Nora and Mary Louise
by jessiejessie761
Summary: This story is going to start from the beginning, explaining how Noralise fell in love and their history. Hope you enjoy!
1. A New Family

Nora and Mary Louise: A New Family

"No!" I screamed. "Please don't put me in there!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Father, I am begging you," I pleaded as he dragged me towards the slaughterhouse.

Once we arrived, he pushed me inside. The next thing I knew, I was hanging upside down among all of the cows.

About four months ago, I had been cast out of my coven due to their finding out about my siphoning problem; therefore, my family found out as well. Every day since then, they have tortured me by hanging me with the dead cattle; sometimes, they even resorted to violence. I felt alone and abandoned; nobody seemed to care about my well-being anymore. My family despised me so much that they would rather torture me for the rest of my life than kill me and put me out of my misery.

They were not able to accept me so they began to hate me, and after a while, I started to hate myself, too. I didn't ask to be a siphoner; I was just born that way. Why couldn't they understand that? I was being punished for something I had no control over, and I couldn't fight back because they were all much stronger witches than I was.

One day, I was locked in the slaughterhouse. Although I was not hanging upside down this time, my family still put a spell on the slaughterhouse so I was unable to escape. They had gone into town to pick something up; I wasn't exactly sure what they were ever doing because they kept to themselves after their discovery about me.

About two hours after they locked me in the slaughterhouse, the smell of the dead cows permeating the air, I heard a loud noise at the front. I was nervous they were back and wanted to harm me, so I stayed far away from the door, hoping they would eventually just leave. However, after a minute or so, the door flew open, causing me to duck my head and hide my face with my arms. What was going on? Who did that?

Suddenly, I heard a soft, "Hello,"

I looked up and saw a man. He was skinny with brown hair and was wearing a suit. He seemed to be very proper and well-mannered, while also clearly being strong and powerful. I was unsure about how to feel in that moment.

"Who are you?" I asked, looking around to see if anyone else was behind him.

"Nobody else is with me," he reassured me. "My name is Malcolm. And what might your name be?"

"Mary Louise,"

"Mary Louise; what a beautiful name," he smiled. "May I call you Mary Lou?"

"Sure," I responded, still unsure of who he was exactly and why he was there. "Not to be rude, but why are you here? And how did you get through the door? There was a spell on it,"

"Well, I am a heretic; half-witch, half-vampire," I started to back away, feeling extremely nervous. "Oh, you don't have to fear. I am not going to hurt you. I want to help you. And as for the spell, they chose a weak one to use; I am very much capable of getting through many spells.

I was astounded: "What do you mean you are here to help me?"

"I mean exactly that,"

"How?" I asked, my interest in the matter becoming greater and greater.

"Come with me," he said.

"No. Wait. My family will have me beheaded if I run away. I can't leave here," I demanded.

"Come with me, Mary Lou. I will protect you from them. And if all goes well, you will never have to suffer like this ever again,"

I knew that going somewhere with a complete stranger was not the best idea, but nothing could have been worse than what my life was like already. And, anyway, I felt very comfortable around Malcolm; there was something calm and safe about him.

…...

After an hour of walking, I said, "Are we almost there? Where are we even going?"

"Don't worry. We will be there soon,"

About thirty minutes later, we arrived to the place he wanted to take me.

"We are here," he said.

"And where is 'here' exactly?" I asked, looking around nervously. I had never seen the place where we were before.

"Hello," a voice called from behind me. I jumped at the sudden sound of it, but the actual voice was very soft and relaxing. I turned around and saw a woman; she was also very skinny, but she had black hair and was wearing a dark blue dress. I quickly glanced at Malcolm to see if he knew who this person was.

He walked towards me and lifted his hand up toward the woman: " _This_ is Lily,". Then, he looked at the woman and lifted his hand up toward me: "And _this_ is Mary Louise, or Mary Lou, as I call her,"

I reached my hand out to shake hers, but, instead, she grabbed me and brought me in for a hug. I was not expecting it, so I didn't embrace her back. She let go of me and said, "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy you are here,"

"How do you know me?" I asked, confused as to what was happening.

She looked at Malcolm while she said, "We have all been watching you for the past couple of months. We know what you are and we accept you for that,"

I was shocked at the words that had just come out of her mouth. They accepted me? Wait, but how did they know what I was? And why were they watching me? I had so many questions and yet I didn't feel the need to ask many of them, so I just asked one: " _All_ of you? Are there more?"

"Why, yes, of course," she responded. She waved in the direction behind me, and, suddenly, four more people appeared.

First, Lily pointed to a man: "That is Julian". Then, she pointed to another man: "That is Beau,". Then, to another man: "That is Oscar". Then, she pointed to a woman: "That is Valerie". Lastly, she pointed to the other woman: "And that is Nora,"

I found myself staring at Nora for a little longer than I did the others—she was stunningly beautiful dressed in a black dress with beautiful curly brown hair—but I quickly turned my head back to Lily.

"Who are all of you? Are you one big family? And what do you want with me?"


	2. Something's Wrong

Nora and Mary Louise: Something's Wrong

Lily and the rest of them brought me into a large and beautiful brick house; they said they have been living there for the past two years. They told me that they had been watching me for that long as well, which was a little off-putting to me at first. However, once they told me their stories, all of my doubts and unsureness about them faded. I listened to their stories and was intrigued by their history. Julian said that after he and Lily met and fell in love, they started traveling the world together. First, they went to Europe, and that's how they found Malcolm. Malcolm was a siphoner and was banished by his coven, just like I was. His family disowned him, but Lily found out about him. She took pity on him and accepted his siphoning abilities, leading her to adopt him into her family. After that, Lily and Julian decided to move from city to city looking to find people to add to their family. Next was Beau. One night, they were going out to see a show, and they ended up discovering him. His amazing opera voice attracted them to him, and they started a friendship. After a couple of months, they found out that he, too, was a siphoner and was banished by his coven and family. They asked him to join their family, and he accepted without any reluctance or hesitation. Oscar and Valerie were both two years after that. Lily and Julian started searching for siphoners, not just any person, to add to their family because they wanted to help siphoners who were cast out by their coven and needed a family. They eventually found Valerie and were successful in getting her to join their growing family, and the same with Oscar a little after that. Hearing all of their stories finally made me think, without a doubt, that I could be part of their family. Each of Lily and Julian's adopted members had very similar backgrounds to mine. I felt more at home and more safe than I had felt in a long, long time.

I looked around at all of them, thinking that I was looking at my new family for the first time, when suddenly I noticed Nora sitting to the side, her head bent down.

"Nora? That's your name, right?"

"Yes," she replied, as she lifted her head and looked at me.

"What's _your_ story?"

"She's our newest member," Malcolm stated.

When he said that she hadn't been part of their family for very long, I got excited. I wanted to discuss what the transition was like with someone; from a witch to a heretic. Although I was excited about the idea of becoming stronger and moving on with my life, especially while not alone, I was also a little nervous about how I would handle everything once it actually all happened. There was no better way of getting to know these things than from their newest member.

"Would it be alright if I asked you some questions; in private?"

"Sure," she said with a smile on her face. "Come this way,"

She took me upstairs to one of the rooms. I sat down in a chair while she sat down on the bed, across from me.

"So, what would you like to ask me,"

"Well, since you are the newest member, I thought it would be most logical to ask _you_ these things,". She nodded, urging me to go on. "What was the transition like? Was it difficult to be brought into a new family and to become half-vampire?"

She laughed a little as she looked down at the floor: "I guess we're getting right to it, then,"

We both laughed for a couple seconds, but then she began to tell me her own story: "I had the best relationship with my family, especially my mother. We were inseparable; we did everything together and I told her everything. One day, I told her that I had discovered that something was wrong with me as I had taken someone's powers just by touching them. Back then, I didn't know how to control it, obviously. Anyway, my mother turned her back on me, and she and the rest of my family eventually tried to kill me. Malcolm ended up finding me and didn't let them succeed; he saved my life, and then introduced me to Lily. She became my new mother figure when I needed one the most. At first, I was unsure about how I felt with replacing my own mother, even though she tried to kill me, but once Lily turned me into a vampire, making me a heretic, and I felt the most powerful I had ever felt before, I came to love my new life. I realized that I was starting over and my past life was just that; the past. So, to answer your question, it wasn't a hard transition for me in the vampire aspect of it, but the family transition was a little rough in the beginning, even though I accepted it fully later on,"

I was so inspired by Nora's story and her strength to overcome the horrible things her family did to her. I felt connected to her because she was abused just like I was, whereas the rest of the heretics were only disowned by their family, not that that is something to be taken lightly.

"Wow. I'm so sorry for what happened to you, but I can see you have clearly moved on from that now,"

"Yes, I have," she smiled. "You know, we are very much alike. All of us have been watching you for years, and our stories are not too different. I know you were close with your father before he started hanging you with the cows, just like I was close with my mother before she started abusing me and eventually trying to kill me. I think that if you choose to join our family, we will be the best of friends,"

I couldn't help but smile. There was something about Nora's presence that made me happy and relaxed.

"Well. You've convinced me! I would love to become part of this family,"

"Yay!" she screamed with joy. She ran over to me and brought me into a tight embrace; my hands wrapped around her waist and squeezed tight as I realized that I now had people in my life who accepted me completely for who I was. I was so ecstatic and thankful to finally be in this situation.

After our conversation, Nora brought me back downstairs and spread the news: "Everyone! I have great news! Mary Louise wants to join our family!"

Everyone got up from their seats and came over to me to hug me; they couldn't have been happier with my decision.

….

It had been six months since I chose to start a new life with Lily and the rest of them. We had moved to a different city far from my home so that I would not run into my old family. I had grown to love them like my own flesh and blood. Becoming a vampire was difficult for me at first because I had to get used to the unquenchable thirst for blood, but with the help of everyone, I was able to control it more so that we could be in public without me feeling the need to drain someone of their blood. However, every night we would go out and find people to feed on; I became more confident, more powerful, and probably a little more brutal because of my new lifestyle.

I grew to be close with everyone, but probably the most with Nora. I was able to be completely myself around her without judgement—most of the time. Of course, we got into some fights, but that happens to anyone someone becomes close to. Regardless, we always made up after our petty arguments; we became best friends and were inseparable. We began to do everything together and told each other everything; if either of us were sad, we cried on the other's shoulder, and if either of us were happy, we told the other one straight away. We knew that we always had each other's back no matter what.

One day, I woke up and found Nora pacing around my room.

"Nora? What are you doing in here?" I asked. It seemed like she didn't hear me as she just kept pacing, so I repeated myself. Nothing.

I got up from my bed and stopped her in her tracks. She looked up at me, almost surprised I was there even though it was _my_ room.

I grabbed her shoulders and said, "Nora! Are you okay? Why are you in here?"

"Oh—I—I just—have something to tell you,"

"Is it bad news?"

"No. No. It's—it's—good news—I mean—yeah—good news, I guess,"

"Alright," I said in a confused tone. "What's up?"

"Well, you know Adam?"

"The vampire that we befriended like two months ago? Yeah, I know him,"

She looked at me with devilish eyes; she clearly didn't appreciate my sarcasm in that moment. Something was going on but I had no clue what could be making her so nervous.

"Well, he kissed me last night after you left to come back here,"

She looked away from me and started to walk from the bed to the window on the other side of the room.

"Oh," I responded. "Well—that's—um—that's great!"

She quickly turned her head to face me: "It—it is?" she questioned.

"Sure it is! I mean—you guys would make a very cute couple," I said as I made myself smile.

"You think so?" she started to walk towards me again.

"Yes. Why? Are you not fond of him?"

"What? No—I mean, yes. Yes—I am fond of him,"

"Alright, then. Why are you so nervous?"

"Oh, I don't know. I just thought—"

I looked at her, tilting my head to express confusion.

"Never-mind. I don't know what I was thinking," she replied. She stared at me for a couple of seconds and then disappeared from my room.

After she left, I quickly let my smile fade from my face; who knew fake smiling would hurt your face that much. I sat down on my bed and reflected on the conversation I had just had with Nora. Why did I feel so upset when I heard about that kiss? And why did my heart hurt when Nora said that she was fond of Adam? She was my family—my friend—my best friend—and I should have been happy for her when she told me about her night, but I just couldn't get myself to feel that way. Maybe I was scared of losing her. If she and Adam began dating, then we wouldn't spend as much time together as we did before. I would miss staying up all night and having long talks with her. Yes. That had to be the reason. I didn't want to lose my friend. That was it.

….

That afternoon, I tried to find Nora, but she wasn't in the house and I couldn't find her in town. I gave up after a couple of hours of searching and went back to the house. When I got back, I found Malcolm sitting on the couch.

"Malcolm. May I speak with you?"

"Why of course, Mary Lou. Take a seat,"

I sat down on the chair opposite of him. I needed to let out my feelings to someone because Nora was nowhere to be found. I told Malcolm the whole situation and explained my concerns.

He started to laugh: "Why are you laughing?"

"Oh, it's nothing," he continued his laughter, trying to stop but not succeeding.

"Oh, come on. Let it out,"

"It's just—come on. You know,"

"Know what?"

"That's not the real reason you are upset, Mary Louise. You care for Nora,"

"Of course I care for Nora," I replied, unsure of what he was trying to get across.

"No. I mean _care_ for her. As in _more than friends,_ "

What was Malcolm talking about? Nora and I were extremely close, but we weren't _that_ close. Right? Anyway, it didn't matter. That was forbidden in our society and I would never feel that way about a girl.

"Malcolm, no. You are mistaken. I do not feel that way about Nora. We are just friends and that is all we will ever be!"

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

I looked at him, trying to come up with a response. Finally I said, "That's ridiculous. Nice joke,"

Then, suddenly, I heard a door upstairs slam.

"Did you hear that? Is someone else home?" I asked.

"Yes, I heard that, but I didn't think anyone else was home,"

I went upstairs and saw that it had been Nora's door that was slammed shut. I hadn't even heard her walk in.

I knocked on her door and said, "Nora? Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said in a shaky voice. I could tell she was speaking through some tears.

"Nora. Let me in,"

She opened up the door for me and backed away.

"Did I do something?"

"No. I just overheard your conversation with Malcolm,"

"Oh, right. I was trying to find you earlier but I didn't know where you went. I was going to explain to you how I felt about what you told me this morning,"

"Yeah, well. I heard. So don't worry about it,"

"What does _that_ mean? Why are you acting in an unpleasant manner?"

"Because I heard what you said!"

Which part was she upset over hearing? The part about me maybe wanting to be more than friends? No. I made myself believe that she missed that part when running upstairs. And anyway I didn't feel that way, so it didn't matter.

"And by the way, I was with Adam. I'm going to tell him that I've made my decision and that we are officially dating,"

I started to make myself smile, but then I realized that she was being a tad bitter. So, I nodded and left her room. I heard the door close shut behind me, and I entered my own room down the hall. I wondered to myself: What just happened? What did I say to make her be so angry at me? Will her and Adam's relationship cause us to grow apart? All I wanted was for Nora and I to continue to be close, but something had gotten in the way of that, and even though I had no idea what that something was, I sure as hell was going to figure it out.


	3. A Revelation

Nora and Mary Louise: A Revelation

It had been a couple of days since Nora and I had an argument—no, no an argument—a discussion. I tried to give her some space, but it wasn't easy; I had been used to being around her 24/7 for six months. Once Sunday came around, I finally had an excuse to talk to her; every Sunday we would walk to the park and sit down, enjoying the fresh air and each other's company. It had become our little tradition.

"Nora?" I knocked on her door, but didn't hear a response. "Nora! Are you there? It's Sunday, remember?" A minute passed by: "Hello?"

I realized that she wasn't present in her room. But when had she left? And why hadn't she told me? We always told each other everything; where we were going, what we were feeling, what we were going to do. But I guess for the past couple of days, she had been going places and doing things and hadn't told me then, either. But why did it seem so hurtful _now_? Maybe because she was blowing off something special to me—to us; or so I thought.

I decided to find Nora; I wasn't going to let something small get in the way of our routine. I went into town and began a search. I went to all of her favorite places; they were all mostly clothing stores because she loved to dress up and try things on. She was nowhere to be found. Then, after an hour, it came to me. She _must_ be with Adam. When I thought of them hanging out together, I began to feel a tad jealous. That must have been where she was for the past couple of days; he had taken her away from me.

I walked over to Adam's house; it was right outside town, so it only took me ten minutes to get there. When I arrived, I could smell Nora; her scent was easily detectable because I had been around her every day—every second—for the past six months.

"Nora!" I screamed from outside. I knew she would hear me.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps come close to the door. After a couple of long seconds, the door started to open. I saw Nora's face peek out from the inside.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a whisper.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Oh. I'm—I'm not," she began to raise her voice as if she was beginning to get mad. I brushed it off.

"Alright. Anyway. It's Sunday. Did you forget?"

Her gaze wandered from my face to the ground: "I—um—I didn't forget. I just don't think it's important that we go every weekend,"

"Not important?"

She looked a little scared by my reaction, like an innocent lamb. Then, as if she turned a switch, she suddenly became aggressive and forceful in tone.

"No, alright? It is not important! Nothing we do is important anymore! Now just leave! I want to spend time with Adam, and only Adam,"

My expression of confusion turned into an expression of anger. Nothing we did was important? Did our friendship mean nothing to her? Had our long talks meant nothing to her? I was furious. I stormed off back to the house while Nora stayed there with Adam.

Once I got back to the house, I sat on my bed and thought about what just happened. This was, in fact, an argument and not a discussion. That was our first real fight. Either Nora was extremely upset with me for some unknown reason, or she was too obsessed with Adam to care about me and my feelings. Either way, she discarded our relationship as if it was never significant to her. Would I even be able to forgive her? I laid back on my bed, my head tucked into the pillow; I drifted off to sleep as I thought about what the future would bring now that I knew Nora not being part of it was a big possibility.

…

It had been a month since—the incident. I had started to believe that things would never go back to the way they once were. It was never easy for me to make new friends as my personality often overwhelmed people; I could be a tad bit bitter, sarcastic and moody which was sometimes too much for people to handle. But, after Nora stopped spending time with me, I made an effort to move on. I had to start doing _something_ in order to get her and our friendship out of my head; I didn't want to be miserable forever. So, I went out into town almost every night, running into new people every time. I didn't really get along with any of the girls—maybe they were intimidated by me—but I _was_ able to make friends with the guys.

William, one of my closest new friends, was the funniest and most trustworthy person I knew. I had told him all about my history, and whenever I started to think about Nora and our fight, he would be the one to cheer me up. We always had a blast together. One night, he asked me out to drinks. Throughout the entire evening, we laughed, joked around, talked about serious things, and drank, of course.

I was in the middle of telling one of my horrible jokes when, all of a sudden, he asked, "Would you like to—go out with me?"

I began to laugh: "Isn't that what we are doing now?"

He smiled back at me and replied with, "No. That's not what I mean. What I _meant_ to say was: would you like to _date_ me?"

My smile faded as I was in shock. I had no idea our friendship had progressed in that direction.

He saw my facial expression and said, "I mean, you can say no. Our friendship is special to me, so I wouldn't want to risk that,"

He looked away shyly and continued: "But if you _did_ want to, then I would treat you like the queen you deserve to be treated as,"

I started to blush. I wasn't going to stop him from complimenting me; I liked it, in fact.

Finally, I cut in: "William,"

I was going to reject his proposal, but once his eyes lifted up and met mine, there was something about that moment that made me say, "Yes. Yes, of course,"

He gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen; his smile was always contagious, so I smiled right back at him. He got up from his seat, took my hands and lifted me up from my seat as well, and brought me in for a hug. He was always so thoughtful in his decisions. He could have tried to kiss me or he could have done nothing, but, instead, he embraced me.

…

For the next two months, I had spent every day with William and had enjoyed every second of it. He was one of the sweetest and gentlest people I had ever met; I felt so lucky to be so close to him. One night, after coming back from our date, he leaned in for a kiss. At first, I pulled away, making him embarrassed and causing him to look away. However, once I did that, I realized that I had nothing to lose by kissing him. Thus, I grabbed his face with my hands, and whilst cupping his cheeks with my hands, I brought him in for a kiss. His lips were so soft. When we pulled away, he had a smile on his face. He then kissed me on my cheek and bid me a goodnight.

William was such an amazing guy. He had so many qualities that I loved, but something didn't seem right. When we kissed, it was nice. But there was no spark for me. There was something missing, but I couldn't even comprehend what it could be because he seemed so perfect.

As I walked into the house, I could hear someone crying. It was Nora. I walked into the kitchen and saw her sitting at the table, her hands covering her face. We had said "hi" to each other in passing, but we hadn't _really_ spoken in a long time. However, it still hurt me to see her upset.

I placed my hand on her back as I said, "Nora? Are you alright? Where is everyone"

She flinched when she felt my touch, so I pulled my hand away quickly. I turned my face the other way, feeling awkward about being near her.

She took her hands away from her face and turned to me: "They're all out. And I'm fine,"

"You are clearly not fine, Nora. I know we haven't spoken lately, but you know that you can always talk to me,"

"Adam broke up with me," she said, fighting her tears back.

I sat down in the chair next to her. I took her hands and placed them in mine: "Well, he's stupid. That coward is missing out on something great,"

She smiled at me with kind eyes, something I hadn't seen in a while from her.

"I'm sorry!" she cried out.

"For what? You have the right to be upset; Adam hurt you!"

"No, no. I'm sorry for what happened with _us_ ,"

I looked away, unsure of what to say in response.

"I just—"

"No," I said, cutting her off. I didn't want to hear any excuse of she did was horrible; she didn't even tell me what I did wrong, and then she just ignored me. "You know, you can't just apologize four months later and think that everything can go back to normal. Because it can't!"

"I know," she pulled her hands away from mine. "I just miss our friendship, you know? We always were able to talk about anything with each other. And we—"

"Yes, I know. I was part of that friendship, too. But you chose to walk away from it without looking back once. You didn't even have the decency to tell me why!" I began to get very angry. All of my feelings about what had happened had been bottled up inside and they were now coming out. Of course, I shared some things with William, but I never let out my deeper feelings about the situation because I didn't want to scare him off and lose another friend. "I can't even look at you right now. I'm sorry,"

I got up to go to my bedroom, but I felt her hand touch mine, pulling me back into the seat.

"I have to admit something, Mary Lou,"

"What?" I said in an annoyed manner.

"I wasn't upset about the breakup with Adam,"

"Oh, great! So now you're lying to me! Wonderful! Anything else you'd like to share now that we are getting everything out on the table?"

"Mary Lou, stop! I am trying to explain something! Just shut up and listen!"

I rolled my eyes and nodded for her to continue: "I saw your kiss with that guy,"

"His name is William," I said.

"Does it bloody matter?" she screamed.

"Why are you so upset?" I asked. I was so confused; she had been crying over seeing me with William?

"Do you really not understand?" she yelled.

"What are you talking about?" I yelled back.

"I like you!"

"I like you, too, Nora. We obviously both like each other since we've been friends for—,"

"NO! I mean I _like_ you,"

Was she serious? She _liked_ me? What? I let it sink in, and after a couple minutes of silence, it all made sense to me. There were now reason for all of our arguments. How could I have been so oblivious? Probably because that kind of feeling was forbidden. Nobody was supposed to think that way about the same sex. And what a sin that would be to _act_ on those feelings. No. I would not be one of those people.

"I can't do this now," I said, running upstairs before tears came streaming down my face. All I heard was "Mary Lou" as I left Nora alone downstairs. When I got to my bedroom, I closed the door and backed away from it slowly. I went to the opposite side of the room to sit on the chair.

I started whispering to myself: "Mary Louise. Stop crying. Stop it! You shouldn't be upset about anything. You don't like Nora. At all. You are not one of those people. You aren't!"

I kept repeating those exact words for five minutes straight. But why did it seem so painful to say them?


	4. Is My Heart In It?

Nora and Mary Louise: Is My Heart In It?

I stayed in my room over the entirety of the next day. I couldn't risk bumping into Nora after the night before. I was so confused in my thoughts and feelings about what happened. I needed to be by myself to sort everything out. However, that night, as I was about to go to sleep, I heard a knock at the door. I wasn't sure if I should open it as it could be Nora, but I decided to open it regardless.

As the door slowly crept open, I saw Lily's face, allowing me to feel relief.

"Hello," I said, opening the door wider and gesturing her to come in.

Once she entered, we both took a seat on my couch.

"Are you alright?" she said in a concerned voice.

"Yes," I said, confused as to why she would ask that.

"Nora told me what happened,"

I looked away from her as I responded with, "Oh,"

"Look, she is very upset. I think you should both have a discussion about what happened and share your feelings on the situation. You two went from being inseparable one minute to treating each other like ghosts or enemies the next. You can't avoid her forever, so why not just talk to her now so you can go back to being close?"

"Lily, I don't know how to handle this. I don't even know what I would say to her right now. I am so lost," I began to cry: "How did we end up here? I thought everything was fine!"

"Well, I think that if you talk to her, then—"

"No! If I talk to her then things will change. I want to prolong that happening for as long as I possibly can,"

"Mary Louise. Maybe change isn't such a bad thing,"

I looked up at her, her eyes staring at me with a look of warmth and love. Lily always knew what to say in difficult situations to make us feel better. I nodded at her words, finally realizing that avoiding Nora was a petty, childish thing to do. I had to confront her.

…..

It was about eleven o'clock at night, but I couldn't wait until the morning. I barged over to Nora's room across the hall and knocked on her door.

"Nora. It's me, Mary Louise. Can we talk?"

Immediately after I said that, the door opened, but Nora was hiding herself behind it, almost as if she was scared to see me.

I walked inside and heard the door close behind me. Before even taking a seat, I turned around and began the tough conversation: "Nora, I just want things to go back to the way they once were. Don't you miss those times?"

"Do I miss them? Of course. But do I want to go back to them? No,"

"No? What does _that_ mean?"

"Mary Lou," she said, inching closer and grabbing my hands. "I want more than what we were before. Before was amazing. But it was only the start of something even better," she smiled.

I broke my hands out of her grasp: "Are you _ill_? Do you know what people would say if they ever heard you speak like that?"

"Yes, I do. But I don't care anymore! I care about _you_! Don't you care about me?"

"Of course I care about you, Nora. But not like that,"

"I don't believe you!" she cried out, her eyes starting to well up with tears.

"Well I'm sorry if you don't believe me, but that's how I feel!" I screamed.

"But I—"

"Nora, stop it!" I yelled, cutting her off. I didn't want her to say it again. I knew how she felt, but I couldn't accept it. No matter how much my heart was fighting it, I just couldn't.

"This is not right, Nora,"

"I'm glad this happened,"

"You are?" I asked, confused at her change of attitude.

"Yes. Because now I know exactly who you are,"

"And who is that?" I was curious.

"Someone who puts society's perspectives over their own views and feelings. And someone who clearly doesn't care about her supposedly best friend's feelings for that matter,"

"What the hell? I always put your feelings first. It was _you_ who ignored _me_ ,"

"I ignored you to avoid this!"

"It doesn't matter! You can't just do that! You hurt me so much! Within a matter of hours, I had nobody because you were all I had!"

She looked down, seeming to be embarrassed and regretful: "I'm sorry, Mary Lou,"

I began to feel guilty about yelling at her, but then again, I _did_ only speak the truth about what had occurred. And she needed to be yelled at for what she did; it was a horrible thing to do.

"Look, Nora, I don't want to fight forever. Can we just make up and be friends again? I miss our long talks and—,"

"No," she replied as her beautiful green eyes looked up at me again. "No, we can't. I can't do this anymore,"

Without even noticing, tears began to stream down my face. It couldn't just be over. Our friendship. It meant everything to me. Even though we had been apart for four months, Nora was the person I was closest to. I needed her. It couldn't be done, just like that.

"I won't accept that! I need you!"

"So if you need me, then I should just give in and play the role of your best friend, but when _I_ need _you_ , you wouldn't dare even try to—"

"That's not the same thing and you know it,"

"No. What _I_ don't know is why you are lying to yourself. We were together every second of every day for six months and you're telling me that you never felt anything more? There's no way! I _felt_ it! I felt our connection!"

"Nora, I don't—"

"Just look me in the eye and tell me you never felt anything more. Ever. And remember that I _trust_ you," she demanded, her tone becoming less forceful.

I told her before that I didn't feel that way. Why was she asking me again? Regardless, I was going to respond with my same answer as before, but when I opened my mouth to speak, nothing came out. It was pure silence.

"Just say it!" she screamed. "Tell me you don't care for me in that way!"

Nothing.

"Tell me! Tell me! Just say it!" she began to break down in tears and fell to the floor.

I followed her to the ground and brought her into my embrace.

"Nora," I could barely get any words out through my own crying.

We sat on the floor in silence for a half hour. Then, finally, I pushed away from her once I heard her crying come to an end.

I stood up to leave the room after such an emotionally draining conversation.

"Wait," she said in a hush and soothing tone. "Can you please just say it. I need to hear it from you one last time,"

I opened the door, and as I was walking out, I replied with, "I can't,"

I could hear the relief from her exhale of breath.


	5. Making Up

First, I would just like to thank everyone who has followed this story, favorited this story, or has left a comment for me to see. I am so appreciative of the amazing feedback you guys are giving me! I hope you continue to like the ideas I have for this story.

Remember to follow and favorite if you like this! Also, you can leave suggestions in your comments and I'll see if I can incorporate some of your ideas into the story (of course I'll give shout-outs). Thanks so much again!

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Making Up

I was in shock. Not only by Nora's words, but also by my feelings when she had said them. I hated myself for that. Why didn't I just say "I don't feel anything for you" when she asked me to? Why was that so hard for me? Something was wrong with me. I stayed awake all night thinking about my feelings. Nora was my best friend, my family. But had I just lost her forever? I think so. Why was that so painful if we had only known each other for six months. It was because our connection was deeper than any other connection I had ever had with anyone else before. But I didn't feel the same way Nora felt. At least that's what I told myself and made myself believe.

The next day, I heard the doorbell ring. I went downstairs, walking slowly to avoid seeing Nora's face. Once I saw that the hallway was clear, I bolted down the steps and opened the door.

"William! Hi. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you, silly," I smiled. He had such a radiant personality and presence that always made me feel comforted and happy.

"Well don't just stand there," I motioned for him to come inside.

"Well aren't you the sweetest," he joked. We both laughed.

We walked into the living room and sat next to each other on one of the couches.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in a while," he said.

"It's only been a couple of days," I responded.

"A couple of days too long," he began to inch towards me until there was no gap between us on the couch. Then, he pulled out a rose that he had been holding.

"I was wondering what that was," I said.

"Well, you can probably guess that it's for you," he took my hand in his and said, "This rose symbolizes our relationship; it's bright and beautiful and, if I hadn't taken it from its roots, still growing,"

I couldn't help but smile. He was always so romantic and gentlemanly-like.

He leaned in for a kiss, but I turned my head quickly, allowing him only to kiss my cheek rather than my lips. It was an immediate reaction; I had no idea why I did it, but I did.

"Is everything alright?"

"There's just been a lot going on around here. It's been a little hectic and stressful," I started to think again about Nora and what had happened. I began to get upset.

"Do you want to talk about it? You know I'm here for you always,"

"Thanks, but I don't think talking about it with you will help the situation,"

"Alright. Just know that if you want to talk, I'm always free,"

I was silent for a moment. Then, he stood up and grabbed my hand.

"Let's go. I know what to do when you're upset!"

"William, no. I'm sorry. I 'm just not in the mood to do much today,"

"Okay. Well then let's go out to lunch,"

"I've lost my appetite,"

He sat back down on the couch.

"Why are you so down, Mary Louise? Just tell me what the problem is and then maybe I can help fix it and then we can go and have fun. And you will be back to normal!"

He was always so cheery and optimistic, but this was not the time for that. It had just recently sunk in that Nora was out of my life as a friend, or as anything for that matter, for good. I was heartbroken. I tried to be happy, but I could only feel sadness bubble up in my heart and veins.

"William, I—" I couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

He wrapped his arms around me as I lay my head on his shoulder.

After a couple of minutes, I was able to regain control of my emotions. I lifted my head up from his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry I am such a mess. I don't want you to see me like this. Maybe today isn't the best day to be together,"

He cupped my cheeks in his smooth hands: "You always look amazing to me. No matter what. You know that,"

He leaned in for another kiss, and this time, I let him kiss me on the lips. As soon as our lips touched, I pulled away. It just didn't feel—

"Mary Lou,"

"Yes?"

"May I tell you something?"

"Why, of course,"

"Well, we've been together for two months now, correct?"

"Yes, I suppose that is so,"

"Well. I—I love you,"

I couldn't move. I was completely and utterly surprised. He _loved_ me? Did I love him back? There were so many feelings and thoughts running through my mind in that moment, and nothing came out of my mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you with those words, but I needed to tell you,"

"William, sorry, but can you leave? I just need some time to—um—to think,"

"Sure," he said in a frightened tone. He walked out of the house, looking back many times, but I had closed the door and ran upstairs as quickly as I could. I went straight to Nora's room, but then realized before knocking that I couldn't tell her things anymore. I couldn't share any of my experiences with her anymore. I started to tear as I walked back to my own room. On the way, Lily saw me.

"Mary Louise? What's going on? Are you okay?"

I was unable to get words out, so I just shook my head. Nothing was okay.

"Oh, sweetheart," she took my head and made it rest on her shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her as she did the same to me.

"I don't—I don't know what to—to do" I was able to get out through my tears.

She just stroked my hair and rubbed my back, making me calm down. Once I released my hands from around her waist, she did the same.

I took a couple steps back and said, "I am so lost, Lily,"

"No need to be, darling. Come with me,"

She took my hand and guided me to her own room. There, I saw Nora crying on the bed.

"What's going on here?" I said

Nora looked up and saw me, causing her to immediately turn to Lily with a confused expression.

"Girls, you need to sit down and work this out,"

"We've already tried!" I screamed.

"Well clearly not hard enough because you two are still not speaking,"

"Lily, please just—" Lily cut Nora off.

"No. This is unacceptable. I will not have my family be torn apart from within by two stubborn little girls. I will not let you leave this room until you've made up and sorted things out,"

I rolled my eyes.

"Lily, this is pointless. Nothing is going to change,"

I heard Nora whimper. I turned my head to look at her, but she turned her head away from me.

"This is ridiculous. She won't even look at me!" I whispered.

"Well then you have a lot of work to do, don't you?" she whispered back.

"Lily!" I said as my voice started to get a tad louder.

"I can hear you two by the way. You know, vampire hearing and everything,"

"Girls. Fix this," Lily said as she left the room.

I looked at Nora who still wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Why are you _mad_ at me? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"I thought about the conversation we had last night, and I realized that even if you did feel something for me, which you won't admit, you would never fully be okay with the idea of it. So I've decided that instead of liking you, I am going to ignore and hate you. It's easier that way,"

"Are you listening to yourself? You are willing to just flip a switch and _hate_ me? For no good reason either. I'm sorry I don't feel comfortable with an idea that is forbidden in our society!"

"I understand. But in order to stay sane and move on, I need to hate you. So just be okay with it, please,"

"Nora, no! I will not let you despise me and throw away what we had! Our friendship was—"

"That's just it! It was a friendship that I am not able to get back to! I've already told you that! I can't just be friends again and you know that! Feel free to hate me, too,"

"This is ludicrous. Nora, look at me!" I yelled. Her gaze finally met mine. "I cannot lose yet another person in my life. My entire family already left me, and—"

"Mine did, too, Mary Lou! Mine did, too. And you're not the only one in this; I am losing you as well, you're not just losing me,"

"I know, but—"

"There are no "but"s. You broke my heart and now you're trying to make me feel pity for you. How pathetic,"

My lip quivered. I didn't want to hurt Nora. That was the last thing on Earth I ever wanted to do. But I did. And I wanted to fix it. But she didn't want me to. That's what hurt the most; she didn't want to fix our friendship. She was past that. She wouldn't miss it. She wanted more. But I just—couldn't. I wanted to, but I couldn't.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I really didn't mean to. I don't want you to be brokenhearted. I want you to be happy! That's all I want for you. So if you need to hate me to be happy, then fine. But I will never hate you, Nora. I could never. Even if I tried with all of my might. You're the closest friend I've ever had in my life, but I don't want our friendship if it will cause you pain,"

I was trying to be civil and do the right thing, but it didn't seem like the right thing. Saying all of that felt wrong. It was a lie. Yes, I wanted her to be happy, but I also wanted to be part of her happiness and her life. I didn't want her to hate me; ever. But once I said it, I knew there was no going back.

Nora started to cry. She got up off of the bed and came towards me. She stared at me for a couple of seconds before pulling me in for a hug. I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt, but I didn't care. I was just glad she was willing to be close to me and hug me again. It felt like old times.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and hers were around my neck.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered into her ear.

"No. I'm sorry," she said into my shoulder.

A few seconds later, Lily reentered the room.

"My babies! I'm so glad you've made up!"

Nora and I exited our embrace, looking at each other with confused expressions. What did this mean? Were we friends again? Was this our goodbye? Did Nora think we were more than we actually were? I had no idea what had just happened, but if it meant we were on speaking terms, I was fine with it.

Lily brought us into a three-way hug: "I'm so happy for you two. I knew this would happen eventually,"

Wait. So Lily thought this meant we were together? Like, _together_ together? What? Was I okay with that? It felt so wrong for someone else to be okay with it. What was happening?

Eventually, Malcolm entered and pulled Lily out of our hug.

"Alright Lily that's enough. Now let's leave so the lovebirds are left alone,"

Lovebirds? Had everyone known our situation? And why—

"Mary Lou?" Nora made me lose my train of thought.

She wiped her tears away as she said, "Ugh, I'm a mess. I need to go clean myself up,"

"You are certainly no mess, Nora. You're always so beautiful,"

She looked up, surprised I gave her a compliment. But I used to say that all the time to her; I always complimented her. However, _now_ it had a different meaning for her. _Now_ she could turn anything I say into having a romantic connotation.

She walked towards me again so our faces were not very far apart. I felt extremely uncomfortable, so I started to back away and I turned my head to the side.

"Mary Lou?"

"Look, Nora, my feelings haven't changed,"

"Well, clearly," she said, pointing to my feet, referring to my taking a couple steps backwards.

"Look, I don't want to—"

Suddenly, Nora vampire sped over to me, pressing her lips to mine before I could stop her.

I pushed her away and said, "What are you doing?"

" _Now_ tell me you feel nothing,"

"Nora, I—"

Without even listening to the rest of my sentence, she ran out of the room and returned to her own.

I walked towards the window, the sun finally coming out from behind the clouds. I was mad that Nora kissed me, but was I upset with the actual kiss? I didn't even have to think about it; no.


	6. An Awakening

Nora and Mary Louise: An Awakening

It had been a day since the kiss. Right after I woke up, I went to Lily's room. However, instead of finding Lily, I found Julian.

"Oh, hello. Where's Lily?"

"She's gone out for the day. What do you need?"

"Oh, well, I wasted to discuss something with her," I said, unsure of whether or not Julian was aware of the situation like Lily and Malcolm were.

"Mary Louise, come in. And close the door behind you,"

I did as he said and walked further into the room.

"You know—I'd like to tell you a little story,"

"Alright. Go ahead, then,"

He motioned for me to sit down, so I did, but he stayed standing, pacing around the room.

"Before I met Lily, I was out of control. Some would even call me insane. I couldn't stop myself from killing people; it was like a disease. Of course, we still feed on people now, but it was different. I have a choice now—I can control myself if I so choose, just like you, just like Lily, just like you all. Anyway, once I met Lily, she was a little scared of me at first, but we grew to become great friends. I always loved her, but it took her time to feel the same. And when she finally did, everybody she was close to told her to stay away from me—that being with me would be a mistake. Even though she eventually helped me with my problem and changed me for the better, it wasn't a fast process, and I certainly did not change right in the beginning, when she fell in love with me. But, as you can see, she did not, in fact, listen to them—she followed her heart and it all turned out alright. At least I think so," he laughed a little. He stopped his pacing and finally sat down across from me, taking my hands in his: "What I am trying to say, Mary Louise, is that you should follow your heart and you shouldn't care about what others think, because in the end, only you, yourself, will be affected by your decision. And you don't want to have regrets. I mean, look at what Lily would have missed out on," he smiled, which made me smile, too. He had a point.

"That's a lovely story with a lovely message, but it doesn't apply to my situation," I said, finally knowing that he _was_ aware of what happened with me and Nora. You and Lily weren't "forbidden" from being together because of society and its rules; it was only her friends that were against it, which is not as big a deal, no offense,"

I stood up and started for the door as he said, "Just don't come running to me all upset about how Nora moved on and no longer cares for you in that way, and then tell me that you realize that you shouldn't taken a chance on love, but it is too late,"

I turned around and quickly responded with, "I don't love her!"

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself,"

"Oh my goodness. You sound just like Lily. She's the one who would usually say something stupid like that,"

"Mary Louise, relax. And don't insult Lily like that. You know she is only trying to help,"

"Sorry, you're right. But I will not let you tell me how I feel,"

"I am certainly doing no such thing. I am simply telling you that you should be truthful at least to yourself; if you don't feel for Nora in that way at all, then so be it, but if you do and you are just lying to yourself, you are doing yourself an injustice because you will regret losing Nora forever,"

I didn't respond. I just walked out of the room.

…

Besides Nora, Julian was the person I was probably most close to. Not that any of the others were bad to me in any way, but Julian and I understood each other the most. I sometimes acted in childish ways or said sarcastic things that came out as cruel, but Julian never got mad at me for it and he never judged me in any way. Lily had tried to change my ways many times, and Nora even disliked my attitude sometimes, even though our friendship got past it. I guess Julian took the place of my father; he was the knew male figure in my life and I looked up to him. So, when he said what he said to me, I took that to heart and I thought about it long and hard. A couple of hours later, I went back to his room to talk to him again. I needed his help.

….

"Julian?" I said as I knocked on the door.

"Come in, I am just getting changed,"

I entered and saw that he was buttoning up his shirt.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes, in fact, I am. I am taking Lily out tonight. I wanted to do something romantic since it has been a while since I have done something of that sort,"

"Well done," we both laughed a little.

"So what's wrong?"

"You were right, Julian,"

"Sorry what was that? I couldn't hear you,"

"Oh, shut up. You heard me. You were right, okay!"

"Alright, alright. No need to shout it," he replied. I smiled.

"Look, I just don't know what to do. Maybe I do feel something, but I shouldn't!" my smile faded as I began to think again about the topic at hand—my feelings for Nora.

"Mary Louise, I can't tell you what to do. It is a decision that _you_ must make because it is _you_ who will have to live with it for the rest of your life. But, I don't want to see you upset and confused. So, I will tell you what _I_ would do in your situation, even though I will never be in this kind of situation,"

I nodded, wanting him to continue.

"As you know, I am a man who doesn't hold back. If I want something, I take it. So, if I were in your situation, society and rules would never stop me. In fact, I would never even take them into consideration. However, you, my dear, are different than I. You are more reserved and you care about what other people think. And that is not a bad thing, but it makes this decision more difficult for you. So, my suggestion for you is to tell Nora how you feel and be happy with her, but you don't have to act that way in public. Save your feelings and thoughts about each other for when you are at home, where everyone around you accepts you both. No need to share your secret with the world,"

His words made me feel better. He always knew what to say, no matter the situation.

I didn't even respond to him, I just ran and hugged him. He placed his hand on the back of my head, pulling me in so my head rested on his chest.

"You know that you're family will always stand by you and support you, right?"

I nodded my head in response, unable to say any words as I tried to hide the fact that I started to tear. However, as always, Julian knew exactly what I was feeling.

"Don't cry, Mary Louise," he said as he pulled out of the hug, still rubbing his fingers through my hair.

"I'm not," I replied, wiping my tears from my face. "Here, let me help you,"

I tied his tie for him; I knew he always had trouble with that.

"Thank you. You know how much I hate ties,"

"Yes, yes. They make you feel confined and you hate being like everyone else,"

"How do you know me so well?" we both smiled.

"Well, have fun tonight,"

"I will,"

I walked over to the door and opened it. Right before I exited, I whispered, "Thank you,". Then, I walked out. I waited for everyone to leave the house before I confronted Nora. I was surprised she hadn't tried to talk to me already, but I wasn't concerned. I knew she felt something for me, and I knew now that I did for her as well.

About an hour later, everyone had gone out for the night. I immediately walked over to Nora's room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me. Mary Louise. Everyone else left,"

All I heard was silence. She wasn't coming to open the door.

"Nora, please open up; I need to speak with you,"

After a couple of long seconds, she opened the door, but she stood between the door and the wall, blocking my way in.

"Are you going to let me in?" I asked with a nervous laugh.

"That depends. Are you here to break my heart yet again? Are you here to tell me that you just want to be friends? I know how you love to play with my emotions,"

"Nora, stop," I said, rolling my eyes. "Just let me in,"

"Fine," she opened the door wider and moved out of the way to allow me to enter.

"I just need to say one thing without you interrupting,"

She placed her arms on her hips: "Okay, fine. Go ahead,"

"I spoke with Julian today and I have come to a conclusion. I _do_ feel something for you. I didn't necessarily want to believe it, but Julian allowed me to see that—"

"So you listen to Julian but not _me_? I thought _I_ was supposed to be—"

"I thought I said no interrupting! Just be quiet for a minute, would you?"

She gestured for me to go on.

"Julian told me that I would regret not being with you and I would regret covering up my feelings just because I care about what society thinks of me. At first, I thought he was crazy for saying that and that that would never happen to me, but once I started to really think about what life could turn into in five—ten years, I saw that I could lose you forever. And when I thought about you moving on with someone else, I started to feel things I never felt before. Anyway, my point is, I needed to tell you that. I hope it's not too late," I looked down at the floor, unable to make myself look at her reaction as I was scared of what it would be.

"Look at me,"

I didn't move: "Mary Lou, look at me!"

I lifted my head up and met her gaze. I saw that she had come closer to me.

"You never explicitly said how you feel,"

"Nora, you know—"

"Tell me. Say it out loud. How do you feel?"

"I care for you. Isn't that obvious?"

"So, that's it? You just _care_ for me? Well, I _care_ for Lily. I _care_ for Julian. I _care_ for—"

"Alright, alright. I _like_ you! Okay? I like you a lot,"

She smiled: "Is that enough for you?" I said sarcastically.

She didn't respond by saying anything; her smile only got bigger and she continued to inch towards me. Eventually, she came so close that our bodies were touching. I made myself be okay with it.

She took my right hand and interlocked her fingers with mine. Then, she looked back up at me, her beautiful green eyes staring directly into mine.

"Yes. That's enough,"

I couldn't help but smile. Nora's presence always made me happy, but the thing that made me most happy was that she was smiling; when she was happy, I was happy.

Then, she started to lean in for a kiss. My heart beat picked up its speed and I began to get very nervous. Our last kiss was something I couldn't stop because it came out of nowhere and it happened so fast, but this time, I was _choosing_ to allow her lips to meet mine. However, I just thought about my feelings for Nora; now that they had surfaced, I was able to overcome my fears, allowing me to lean in as well, and kiss her the same way she kissed me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt. There were sparks; I never wanted that kiss to end. Her lips were so soft and sweet and irresistible. She started to pull away, but I quickly put my arms around her waist, pulling her back in for another. I could feel her smile when I did that, and she kissed me right back. She placed her right hand on the side of my face, cupping my cheek, and she placed her left hand on my back. Everything about that moment felt right. That was one of the best days of my life; that is the day our love story began. However, there were many obstacles to come that would test our relationship…

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Thanks again to everyone who has read this! I appreciate all of your comments—I plan on making this a very long story, so I hope you continue to follow it. I know my updates have been very quick, but I will probably not get around to another chapter for another 2 weeks because I will be traveling; just wanted to let you guys know. I hope you like where this is going! Thanks again!


	7. Confession

Hey everyone! I know I said it would be more like 2 weeks until my next update, but I found some spare time to write this! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Confession

For the first few weeks after our kiss, everything was amazing—perfect. It all went back to the way things were before—when we were friends—except for the fact that now there was also a romantic aspect to our relationship. We would talk to each other about anything, we would have romantic moments, and we would also be together every single day, doing everything together. It all seemed so surreal, but I would not have traded it for the world.

….

One sunny day, Nora asked to go to the park; the park where we would always go for a stroll together. That was her favorite thing to do, especially on a sunny day; she loved the way the sun felt on her face, and I loved looking at her when she was happy and content, so it was always a win-win situation.

Once we arrived, we began walking and Nora said, "Mare, I want to tell you something,"

She stopped me in my tracks and turned to face me: "I am really happy. Happier than I have ever been,"

I smiled and laughed.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I can't help it. You are so beautiful and amazing in every way. I couldn't be happier either," she smiled right back at me and laughed out of relief.

Nora took my hand in hers, but I quickly ripped it away. She looked hurt at first, but then she realized we were in public and couldn't show affection towards one another.

"Sorry, I forgot," she said.

I got a little frightened as I still was trying to ease into this whole new chapter of my life: "Just be more careful and aware. We can hold hands at home,"

"I know. It's just annoying that I can't show everyone how I feel about you,"

I didn't respond.

We continued to walk when, suddenly, I heard someone call my name.

"Mary Lou! Mary Lou! Behind you!"

I turned around only to find William running towards me.

"Where have you been? I have gone to your house every day but they always say you aren't home. Have you been avoiding me?"

I looked at Nora, unaware of what to do. Then, I returned my gaze to William.

"No, William. Of course I haven't been ignoring you. I have just been really busy and have been out of the house a lot as you can see I am right now,"

"Well, we need to talk. It's been weeks since I told you that I love you and you—"

"William, stop," I cut him off too late; Nora had already heard the three words that I never wanted her to hear come out of William's mouth.

I couldn't even look at Nora as I was afraid of what she was thinking and what her reaction to hearing that would be.

"William, we are over. I don't feel the same way you do. I'm so sorry. You are such an amazing guy, but I think we'd be better off as just friends. My heart is just not in it,"

An expression of complete sadness and disappointment appeared on his face. I felt bad for how that came out, but it had to be done despite the harshness. I was with Nora now, and I couldn't act like I cared for him especially when she was standing right there.

"It's over? Fine—I mean—it's not fine—it's—I don't even know what to think right now, I—I"

He stopped in the middle of his sentence and then he walked away from me. I tried to avoid looking at Nora, but once she started talking, I had to turn towards her.

"Mary Lou, what did he just say to you?"

"Nothing, it doesn't mean anything, he just—"

"Of course it means something! He's told you he _loves_ you? And you didn't break up with him already?" I could see the anger bubbling up inside of her.

"Let's not make this a big deal. Didn't you hear me tell him I don't feel anything for him? So everything is okay. And no, I didn't break up with him before, but I haven't seen him since—"

"Nothing is okay about this. I can't believe you didn't tell me that! And I can't believe you cheated on him; with _me_! Oh my god, I'm like your mistress. I—" she started to pace around nervously.

"Nora, stop it!" I said as I placed my arms on her shoulders to try and calm her down. "It is not as bad as you're making it out to be. William and I were never going to work out because deep down I knew that I had feelings for _you_! And _that_ should mean more than some stupid little thing he said to me, because I don't feel that way about him! I feel that way about you!"

Right when I said that, I wanted so desperately to take those words back. I didn't mean that I _loved_ her. I meant that I cared for her deeply and didn't care for William in that same way. But it was too late; I already said it and she already heard it.

She looked up with a confused expression: "You—you feel that way about me?"

"Um—no. That's not what I meant. We aren't there yet. Yeah—no. I meant that I care for you and not for him. I—um—" I didn't know what else to say.

"Oh, right. Yeah—no. We—um—we aren't there yet, I guess. I mean, I know—I know we aren't there yet,"

"Right," I said. I tried to change the topic back to the problem at hand. "So, anyway, you aren't mad about William anymore?"

"Um—I mean, I'm still upset you didn't break up with him beforehand, but I guess I can get over that,"

Even though she responded to my question, it didn't seem like she was really focussed on that. Something else was on her mind, and I hoped it wasn't what I had mistakenly and stupidly said.

….

That night, Nora and I were sitting at the dining room table, eating dinner. It was Thursday, and every Thursday we would ask the rest of the family to leave the house for that evening so that Nora and I could have a romantic dinner.

My hand was resting on the table. Usually, she would cover my hand with hers and then we would smiled at each other and I would bring my other hand over to cover hers. However, she didn't do that this time. Not only did she stay still and not move her hand, but she didn't even move her head to look at me the entire night.

"Nora? What's the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she said. It was as if she was day dreaming about something and my sudden question pulled her out of her still state.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes. Of course," she smiled, but I knew it was fake.

"Nora, by now you should know that I know you extremely well, meaning I know when you are lying and when you are fake smiling. Talk to me,"

She finally lifted her head to look at me.

"I was just thinking about today,"

"I thought you were okay with the fact that I didn't break up with—"

"No, not that,"

I suddenly realized what she was talking about. I guess she hadn't forgotten.

"Oh,"

"I know you didn't mean it in that way, but I just got to thinking—I don't know,"

"Go on,"

"Well—I don't know. I just started thinking about how amazing these last few weeks have been and what our future could bring. And then I started to think that maybe I do feel—"

"Nora, stop. I thought we said we weren't there yet,"

"I know, but maybe—"

"We like each other. A lot. And that's enough. At least for right now. Look, we just started officially being together, and—"

"I know that! It's just that we have known each other for so much longer than a few weeks and _I_ have known that I like you a lot longer than _you_ have known that you like me. So, my feelings might be growing faster,"

"Nora— I just don't want to rush anything. Everything has been so amazing and I just don't want to risk losing you by moving too fast. I think we should just enjoy being together for a little while,"

Nora reluctantly nodded her head, but I just wanted to leave that topic, so I didn't continue that conversation.

….

The next couple of months passed relatively quickly. My relationship with Nora was growing more and more every single day. After the awkward conversation that night, there was something that felt a little off, but I assumed it was nothing and I let it go. But besides that, we always had the best time with each other. I was really happy, and it seemed like she was really happy as well.

….

One night, as I was about to go to sleep, I heard Nora whisper through my door, "Mare? Are you awake?"

I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Can I just come in for a minute?"

"Of course,"

Once she entered, she sat down on my bed and pulled the covers over her.

"What are you doing?" I asked. Nora had never been in my bed since—

"What? I've slept in your bed before, haven't I?"

"Yes, but not when we were—you know—together,"

"So?"

" _So_ this is different,"

"So you don't want me sleeping in here with you?"

I wanted to say "no" because it felt a little weird, but I didn't want to upset her or get into a fight, so instead, I responded with, "Yes, I do,".

"Good," she smiled. She motioned for me to come into the bed, and I slowly walked over. Once I sat down on the bed, she brought me closer to her and pulled the covers over me as well.

"Alright let's go to bed," I said.

I moved all the way to one side, trying to get as far away from her as possible, and I turned my body to face the opposite direction.

"Are you really that tired?"

"Yes. Now let's sleep,"

I felt Nora place her hand on my back.

"Mare, please turn around,"

I did.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just our family is sleeping in the other room,"

"And that's why you will barely look at me?"

"Alright, fine. No, it's not. I just don't feel comfortable with this, okay? Can you respect that?"

"I just don't feel like you are really in this relationship,"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like,"

I sat up, realizing this was going to be a longer conversation than I expected.

"What the _hell_ , Nora? I am _trying_ , okay? I really am! But you are not giving me the time I need to adjust to this. You seem to be _completely_ alright with this change, but this is _so_ new to me and I want to be where you are in accepting this fully, but I'm just not. So please, just—just stop pushing me all the time,"

"Pushing you? You think I'm pushing you?"

"All you ever do is push me! You want me to say that I love you, you want me to go further than I feel comfortable with. Oh, and you always try to sneakily hold my hand in public when you know that I am _so_ not okay with that, like the other day when we were in that shop,"

"Well what am I supposed to do when the woman I love is doing everything she can to get out of this?"

"I am _not_ trying to get out of this! Nora, I—" I stopped in the middle of my sentence once everything she said registered in my brain. Did she just say that she loves me? No. Maybe I heard that wrong. But it seemed real. I was so confused and unsure about what to say next.

"Mare, did you just hear what I said? I said that I _love_ you and you just completely ignored it. You never want to confront the problems we face or the differences we have or feel. I don't know if I can wait for you to catch up,"

"What are you talking about? You don't know if you can wait?"

I saw tears form in her eyes.

"It's been killing me inside and you haven't even noticed. You probably think that for the past couple of months I have been extremely happy, when in reality you are blind to the fact that I have been miserable as I know that you don't feel the same way about me as I do about you,"

"Okay, let's just slow down here. You know how much I care for you so don't even try to play that card. And if you really care for me the way you say you do, then you would be more than willing to wait until I get to the point where I am completely comfortable with this change. But you aren't!"

"Well I am sorry I love you too much to—"

"Stop saying that!"

"Why? Because it makes you feel guilty since you know you'll never love me?"

"Stop making silly assumptions! I'm tired of you—"

"Oh, great. You are tired of me!"

"Stop it! You didn't let me finish!"

There was silence for a couple of moments. Then, without even thinking about what I was saying, I continued with, "I can't keep being with you if you are going to hold my uncomfortableness about some things against me. You know that I have been trying, but you clearly don't even care—you don't care about me,"

I didn't mean what I said. Of course I knew Nora cared for me, and I still wanted to be together, but the words came out too fast for my brain to realize what I was really saying and stop them.

"Wow. So you think I don't care about you and you don't want to be with me anymore? You have probably felt that way this entire time but were too much of a coward to tell me!"

"You know that's not true. Nora, I'm sorry—I didn't mean that. I'm just a little angry that you would think—"

"No. I am glad you said what you said,"

"What?"

"I know how you really feel now. And I can't be in a relationship with someone who thinks that _I_ don't care for them when in reality I care for _them_ one hundred times more than they care for _me_!"

I started to cry. So did she.

"Nora, please. I _do_ care for you,"

"Tell me you love me, then,"

"That's asking too much of me, and you know that,"

"Well that's the thing. It _shouldn_ _'_ _t_ be asking too much of you because your feelings _should_ be there. We've been together for months and you don't even want to go farther than a kiss!"

"Why isn't what we have right now enough for you? Why do you want to rush everything? Can't we just enjoy each other?"

"I can't help how I feel!"

"Neither can I!"

"Maybe we should have never done this. We clearly are too different and are at different places,"

"Stop! Don't say that. Look, we can work through this. This is just a bump in the road; we can fix this," After a moment of silence, I continued: "Right?"

Nora didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. I knew exactly what she was thinking based on her facial expression. She got up from the bed, wiping her tears away, and left my room. We were over in her mind, but I wasn't going to let that be the end.

….

For the next couple of days, Nora was nowhere to be found. Lily told me she didn't know where she was either, but I knew she was lying to me to protect Nora's wishes. Eventually, I got Julian to give in and tell me. She was staying at Adam's house. I immediately ran out of the house and headed for his house. Going back there, trying to get Nora back; it all seemed like déjà vu.

Once I got there, I pounded on the door and started screaming her name.

"Nora! Come out here! We need to talk! Nora!"

After a couple of minutes of screaming with no response, Adam finally came to open the door.

"Where is Nora?"

"She is upstairs. But she doesn't wish to speak with you. I suggest you just leave rather than make her more upset,"

"Get out of my way," I said with anger building inside me. "I need to speak with her,"

"Mary Louise, stop. She doesn't want to see you. I have no idea what happened between you both, but I suggest you just leave and let her move on from whatever horrible thing has occurred. She's extremely upset with you. And I will not let you pass through here because I want to protect her and give her what she wants, which just so happens to not be you,"

I wanted to throw him across the room, but I knew better than to start a fight with him. I didn't want Nora to become even more upset with me.

"Why is she here anyway?" I asked. "I thought you broke up with her and she despises you now,"

"What are you talking about? Is that what she told you? No. She broke up with me, saying that she met somebody else. But she came back here a couple of days ago and told me she wants to be together again, and she wants to move in with me. I don't know what happened over at your house or with that other boy, but whatever it was, it helped me big time. I care for Nora and I will protect her from what hurts her,"

"You two are—back together? Are you sure you didn't misunderstand her reason for coming here?"

"Trust me, she made her desires very clear," he smiled.

I was furious. Why would Nora do such a thing? I was beyond perplexed. Now I _had_ to see her to discuss this with her.

"Adam, get out of my way right now or you'll regret it,"

"As I told you, I am not moving; I am going to stay right—" I pushed him aside, trying not to hurt him too much, and I sped upstairs. Nora was in the first room I looked in; she was sitting near the window, looking outside. She always looked so perfect.

"Nora," I said.

She quickly turned around, surprised to see me. I guess she hadn't heard the altercation downstairs.

"What are you doing here? Where is Adam? He was supposed to keep you—"

"Yes, yes. I know, I know. He was supposed to keep me out. Thanks by the way, I really do appreciate that,"

She rolled her eyes at my sarcasm: "Why are you here, Mary Louise?" she said with little energy. "I have nothing more left in me to be able to continue fighting with you, so if that's why you are here, please just spare me the—"

"Stop it. Of course I didn't just come here to fight with you. I miss you,"

She shook her head: "No. It's over. I just can't do this to myself anymore. I am trying to move on,"

"Clearly. It took you about thirty seconds to move on—with Adam of all people. Oh, and he told me that you broke up with him, not the other way around, so that was nice to learn that you lied to me. So much for me feeling guilty about William,"

"Alright I am truly sorry about that. Yes, I lied. But William was different—I broke up with Adam before anything happened with you. And besides, I thought you didn't come here to fight,"

"You're right. I'm not. Nora, please. Give me another chance. I will try harder than before,"

"You shouldn't have to be trying,"

"Oh, shut up with all of that nonsense,"

"It's not nonsense! And you know it!"

I knew she was right, but I _did_ care for her more than I had ever cared for anyone else in my life. And I wanted to express that to her, but I didn't know how. All she wanted was for me to say I love her, but why couldn't anything else be enough?

"Nora, I'm sorry!" Adam screamed as he ran up the stairs. When he entered the room, he said, "I tried to—"

"It's fine, Adam. Mary Louise was just leaving," she gave me a look.

"Actually, I wasn't. I was planning on staying a little longer," I turned from Nora to Adam, and then back to Nora: "Would you like to explain to me why you are with him? He's short, he's weak, he's—"

"Oh, and you are so much better? You are a liar, you don't care about my feelings, you—"

"Alright, that's enough," Adam said.

"Oh, how noble you are, trying to keep the peace," I said.

"What happened with you two?" he asked, ignoring my comment.

"It's not important," Nora and I said at the same time. We both looked at each other; we didn't want Adam to find out about us. Nora probably wouldn't mind, but she knew I did; it was nice to see her supporting my wishes even when we disagreed and had issues to work through.

"It's nothing," Nora said. "Adam, can you just give us a minute?"

"Sure, darling," he said before leaving the room.

"Why do I seem to hate a guy that I used to be friends with?"

"Well, it's a mystery to me, because he's a great guy. He treats me well and he really does care for me,"

"Nora, this is ridiculous. I care for you way more than anyone else possibly could. Are you trying to make me jealous or something?"

"So everything has to be about you?"

"That's not what I'm saying. Stop twisting my words!"

"So if I _were_ trying to make you jealous, would it be working?"

I smiled, relieved that it seemed like she didn't, in fact, really want to be with Adam and it was all just to make me jealous. I actually found it kind of cute.

"Nora, I adore you. And you know that. And don't tell me I feel otherwise, because I know how I feel. I can't stand to be without you for another moment. Please, just come back to me," I walked over to the window where Nora still was. She was sitting down, so I knelt down on my knees to be more level with her. I reached for her hand, and she didn't pull away—always a good sign in my book.

"Mare, you know how deep my feelings are for you. I _want_ to be with you, but I'm afraid of getting hurt in the long run—afraid that you might not love me—ever,"

"That is ludicrous. That would never happen. You are too adorable," we both smiled and I cupped her cheek with my other hand. "It's just taking me more time than you'd like—hell, more time than _I_ _'_ _d_ like. But I promise you I will get there. And I swear I will never leave you. And anyway, how could I? I would be foolish to leave such an amazing woman,"

She laughed: "I love you so much,"

Nora saying she loved me now felt great rather than a burden on me. I could enjoy her expression of her feelings for me now rather than dread the fight that I knew would come. My smile grew even wider. Nora and I were reunited and it felt amazing. I knew I wouldn't make a mistake this time. And even though I didn't say that I loved her, it wasn't long before I did…


	8. Love From Misfortune

Thank you all so much for the kind reviews! I really do appreciate them! I am so happy you guys enjoy this story, but if there's anything you would like me to include, please let me know! Thanks again! Remember to leave reviews and follow this story!

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Love From Misfortune

I will never forget the day Nora became ill. It had been about a month since Nora and I worked things out. I was sitting on the couch, reading a book, when Nora came running down the stairs.

"Mary Lou! Mary Lou!"

"What is it?" I asked as I looked up from my book.

"What's happening to me?"

Suddenly, she started coughing—it was a harsh and loud coughing sound. And then, I saw blood squirt out of her mouth.

I stood up immediately and sped over to her. I picked my finger up and swiped it across her mouth, getting a drop of the blood on my finger.

"Is this really blood? Did you just cough up _blood_?"

"What's wrong with me?" she asked me nervously.

"Nothing, Nora. Nothing is wrong with you. Come with me; we will figure this out,"

I tried to keep calm, but my heart was racing; I had no idea what was happening. I brought her straight to Lily and Julian.

"Lily! Look at this," I showed her the blood that Nora coughed up. "What is this? Why is this happening?"

Lily and Julian looked at each other with nervous expressions. It seemed like they knew something.

"What do you know that we don't?"

Silence.

"Spit it out!" I demanded.

"Alright, alright," Lily replied. "Take a seat,"

Nora and I sat down on the bed while Lily and Julian remained standing.

"Nora, you have a—" she looked at Julian for support; it was as if she was afraid to tell us what was going on.

"Nora has a disease," Julian continued.

"Okay," I said nervously. "So how do we fix it?"

They glanced at each other.

"There is no cure, my darlings," replied Lily. She walked over to us and kneeled down in front of Nora. She stroked her hair and I saw tears form in both Lily as well as Nora's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Nora,"

"Stop it! Don't say a goodbye speech. This is not the end! Nora, come. _I_ am going to help you if nobody else will try,"

I got up, expecting Nora to follow, but when I turned back, I saw Nora collapse onto the floor. She had fainted. I ran over to her, picked her up, brought her downstairs, placed her on the couch, and got some ice to put on her head.

About an hour later, she woke up.

"Mary Lou? What happened?"

"Nothing," I said as I caressed her face. "Don't you worry about anything. I am going to find a cure to whatever this sickness is,"

….

She became more ill within the next three days. She started to lose her appetite, she began to get night sweats, she would constantly get chest pains from coughing so much, and she developed a fever. I was extremely scared; I had no idea how to heal her. I tried every spell I knew, and I asked everyone in the entire town if they knew anything about curing this illness, but nothing worked—I got nowhere. I started to panic, thinking that Nora was slipping away from me; I would not be able to live with myself if she died. I had to save her.

One day, I asked the entire family to leave us alone for about an hour; they complied and left the house.

I walked over to the couch which is where she had been lying down for the past three days; she was so tired she could barely get up.

"Nora, my angel. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine. I've felt better," she said, laughing. I admired her ability to continue to be cheerful even when she felt horrible.

"Are you comfortable? Do you need another pillow? Or a blanket? I know you love to sleep with many pillows and blankets. I'll go grab some,"

I felt her hand grab mine before I could run upstairs.

"Stay with me,"

"I will only be a second," I reassured her. I turned to go upstairs again, but her grip on my hand tightened.

"Please just sit here with me for a moment,"

"Alright. Whatever you would like,"

I brought a chair over so I was sitting next to her.

"What's wrong?"

She laughed.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Mare," she said, her facial expression quickly turning from a smile to a frown. "I'm dying,"

"Why would you say that? Of course you are not dying!"

She took my hand and placed it in hers: "We both know it. And—" her coughing interrupted her sentence. Then, blood spurted out of her mouth. I was going to get up to grab something to clean up the mess, but she wouldn't let me leave her sight.

Tears formed in my eyes: "Nora,"

"Don't cry. Let's just enjoy my last moments. There's nowhere I would rather be but here—with you," she said, her voice getting weaker and weaker with every word.

"No. Stop. Don't leave me. Please, don't leave me! I can't even imagine my life without you! I don't _want_ to imagine it without you! You cannot give up. I won't let you!"

"Mare, I love you. You know that. And I will always be here with you; maybe not in my body, but I will be here in spirit,"

"That's not the same and you know it. I can't live without you, Nora,"

I got up from the chair and started to pace around the room: "How have my spells not worked? I tried every single possible thing and not one has even come close to healing you. Why can't I save you? I _need_ you to live! I'm so sorry I have failed you,"

"Mare, stop. If you say you tried everything you possible could, then I believe you. I trust you more than anyone in this world. This is not your fault,"

Sweat started to form on her forehead.

"Are you alright?" I asked, placing my head on her face.

"I'm fine. I feel fine. Don't worry,"

I knew she was lying to me. She looked like she was in a world of pain. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore; I tried for Nora but I just couldn't. My emotions were too strong.

I sat back down and grabbed Nora's hand, but, suddenly, her hand slipped out of mine. She was becoming ten times weaker every minute.

"Nora?"

No answer.

"Nora!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Please don't leave me. I _need_ you. I _love_ you! Nora! Come back to me! Nora!"

She had passed out, and I knew she was going to die within minutes. Suddenly, I realized something. I was a siphoner, and I hadn't even tried to siphon this illness out of her!

"I am so stupid," I whispered to myself. "Please work. Please, G-d, let this work,"

I placed my hands on her arms and squeezed them tightly. My body was shaking because I knew this was the last chance I had at saving her.

A couple of seconds later, I heard a gasp come from Nora's mouth. I was beyond relieved. The siphoning worked!

"What happened?" she said, sounding like her normal self.

"You're okay!" I brought her into a tight embrace.

She wrapped her arms around me as well: "You saved me. Thank you,"

"No, thank _you_ for not dying!"

We both laughed.

"I don't know how I could've moved on," I said, becoming a little choked up since I was so happy.

"Mare, everything is alright now. It's okay," she stroked her hands through my hair. "We don't need to think about what could've been now,"

"You're right, my love,"

She pushed me away, exiting the embrace.

"What did you just say?"

I smiled: "I said, 'You're right, my love,'"

She had a confused look on her face.

"I love you, Nora,"

She looked away as if she was upset.

"I thought you would've been more ecstatic to hear that,"

"You're only saying that because I almost died. You don't really mean it,"

"Nora? Are you crazy? Of course I mean it! Although it took this horrible thing for me to realize it, I know now that I cannot even comprehend a life without you—a day without you. I love you!"

My smile grew even larger than before, and she smiled at me in return.

"I love you so much," she replied.

"I love you more, my love,"

"My love. Hm. Where did you come up with that?"

"I just naturally said it. Why? Do you hate it?"

"No, I actually kind of enjoy it. No—I don't enjoy it—I love it,"

We both laughed.

"Come here," I said. She brought her head closer to mine, and then I wrapped my arms around her neck as we entered into a kiss. It was a long and passionate kiss; now that we _both_ made our love for each other known, our kiss felt stronger—our connection felt stronger. I knew that from then on, our relationship would only grow. And even though we would have some bumps in the road, I always knew we would work through them—because we loved each other.


	9. Death

Nora and Mary Louise: Death

From the moment I healed Nora, I became extremely protective over her. I wanted to keep her safe from anything and anyone. I began to trust people less; even if Nora trusted them, I did my investigating to make sure they were, in fact, trustworthy. Nora was the person I cared about most in my life, and I wasn't going to let anybody hurt her.

* * *

Two weeks had passed. Nora and I had just come back from our walk in the park when we heard a knock at the door.

Nora headed towards the door, but I put my hand out and said I would see who it was.

"Who is it?" I asked before opening the door.

"It's me. Adam," he said in a quiet voice.

I turned to Nora, and by her facial expression, I knew she was okay with me letting him in, so I did.

The three of us walked into the living room where Adam took a seat on the couch.

"Yeah, sure. You can make yourself comfortable," I said.

"Mare, stop. Be nice," Nora warned me.

"Look, I didn't come here to start anything. I just came by to see how you were. I heard through the grapevine that you were sick,"

"Yes, but I am fine now, as you can see," she laughed a little.

"Right," he laughed, too. "Thank god,"

She smiled, but I was not amused.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"I suppose so," he replied.

"Wonderful. It was great seeing you, Adam," I said as I walked to the door, opening it and motioning for him to leave.

"Mare, what's wrong with you?"

Nora turned from me to Adam and continued with, "Please stay. Would you like to join us for dinner?"

"Sure," he said with a smile.

"Great," Nora replied cheerfully.

I rolled my eyes and closed the door, realizing he would be staying for a while.

"Nora, may I speak with you privately?"

She nodded and we headed into the kitchen.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Why did you invite him to stay?"

"Why not?"

I started to pace around the kitchen.

"Mare, what's going on? You are acting strange,"

"I don't know. I guess I just want to protect you. Even since—you know—I have been scared to let you near other people. I just don't want—"

"I didn't know you felt that way," she interrupted, walking closer to me. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I shrugged.

"Listen. We have to move forward from that. Was it scary? Yes. For the both of us. But you can't live in fear of me getting hurt or getting sick. That's life. Things happen. And we can deal with it. It turns out we are heretics—vampires and witches. I'm pretty sure we can get through almost anything," she smiled.

Even though she had a point of not living in fear, I couldn't help my emotions. I would not change how I had been acting. I needed to keep her safe; that was my only job now, at least in my mind. But I didn't want to make her upset, so I made her believe I would change my perspective by saying, "You're right, my love,"

She inched closer to me, reaching out her hand towards mine, but I back away.

"Adam's here," I quickly said.

"Right," she looked down at the ground. "Let's get back to him, then,"

* * *

After about an hour of listening to Nora and Adam chat about unimportant and uninteresting things, I suggested it was time for dinner. As we walked over to the dining room table, the rest of the family came downstairs in order to join us. Lily had cooked dinner earlier that day, so we all sat around the table while she served everyone.

Nora and I usually sat next to each other, but she chose to sit on the other side of the table next to Adam, so I was left to sit next to Valerie instead. Valerie and I never really got along too well; our personalities just clashed—she also just annoyed me. But I would be able to make do for one night.

"So, Adam, how have you been?" Lily asked.

"Good, thanks,"

"We haven't seen you in a while," Valerie stated.

"That is true. I hope to be around more often now, though,"

I looked up from my plate of food and glanced at Nora and the rest of the family. Only _I_ seemed to be shocked by this response.

"Is that so?" I asked.

"Yes. I feel bad I wasn't here when Nora was sick, so if it's alright, I would love to hang out here more often and look out for Nora,"

"Of course," Nora replied.

A rush of anger came over me. Why was Nora okay with that? Was I not enough? And had she not noticed that this was Adam's way of trying to get back together with her? I was furious, but I didn't want to make a big scene, especially since Nora would get mad at me. Instead, I got up from the table and bolted to the kitchen.

Nora came in after me.

"Mary Lou?"

I didn't answer. I was trying to get myself under control so I didn't scream at her in response.

"Mary Lou!"

I turned around to face her. She was very confused as to what was wrong.

"You said: 'Of course' when Adam asked if he could come over here more often to take care of you,"

"Not to take care of me. But okay. So?"

"So?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes! Yes, that is a problem,"

"Why? Adam was your friend once, too,"

"Yes. That was before you and him were—you know,"

"But that's over now. You know that. I know that. He knows that,"

"Are you sure he knows?"

"Yes, Mary Lou. Don't worry so much. Is this you being protective or jealous. I thought I told you you don't have to protect me. And there is no need to be jealous. We both know that. So whichever one it is, stop,"

I nodded and we both went back into the dining room.

"Everything alright?" Valerie smirked.

I rolled my eyes. She obviously overheard our conversation; she _did_ have vampire hearing.

"What did we miss?" Nora asked.

"Nothing," replied Adam. "Nothing important happens when you aren't here," he smiled. She smiled, too.

* * *

After dinner was over, everyone seemed to be in a great mood, except me. They all thought Adam was such a sweet and funny guy, but I despised him for liking Nora. She may not have seen it, but it was completely obvious to me.

Everyone began to go upstairs to their rooms to go to sleep, so Nora agreed to walk Adam out. I was cleaning up the table as I looked out the window only to see that Adam leaned into a kiss. Once I saw their lips touch, I sped outside and pulled them apart.

"What is going on?" I screamed Adam.

"Mare, I didn't know he was going to—he just" Nora tried to intervene.

"What the hell, Adam?" I interrupted her because I didn't want to hear what she had to say. I was facing Adam and had my back turned to Nora.

He didn't respond; he was probably confused as to why I cared so much. I walked back into the house and headed upstairs in a huff. Suddenly, I heard a scream. I looked back out the window and saw Adam trying to do more things to Nora, but Nora was clearly saying "no".

"It's fine. I know you want this. Just kiss me," he said. She didn't want to hurt him, so she wasn't pushing him off. However, I had a different reaction. I sped back outside and plunged my fist into his chest. When I took my first out, I held his heart in my hand, and his body collapsed onto our porch.

"What the hell?" Nora yelled. "Are you crazy? You just killed _Adam_!"

"You should be thanking me! You weren't protecting yourself from him. Who knows what he wanted to do to you,"

"He was just trying to kiss me!"

"He wanted to do more than that and you know it!"

"Mare, what the hell is going on with you? I can't believe you just did that! Who are you?"

"I am your girlfriend! I guess you forgot that while you were out here with Adam," she rolled her eyes. "And I was just protecting you,"

"I didn't need you to protect me just then! You can't just kill anyone who comes close to me!"

I started to walk away from the house.

"Mare, where are you going?

"Somewhere far away from here!"

"Mare, stop. Come back here!"

I didn't respond. She continued to call my name, but I sped off too fast for her to follow or for me to continue hearing her voice. I knew that I needed some time to myself and that Nora needed time to _her_ self to think about things as well. What I didn't know at the time was that I wouldn't be back there for another month.


	10. Mistake

I have decided to go in a direction a little different than I first anticipated; I am going to jump forward in time, and then have flashbacks of what happened with Nora and Mary Louise. Also, I might change some facts about the show because it just helps the story to develop. I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Mistake

 _PRESENT DAY_

"Nora!" I screamed in reaction to her tickling me. We were running around the house—she was chasing after me.

"Come back here, you!"

I continued to laugh.

"You'll just have to catch me!"

All of a sudden, I felt her come from behind me, and we both fell onto the ground.

"I caught you," she said, smiling.

"It seems that way," I managed to say through my laughter.

We were both on the floor; she was on top of me, holding my hands down onto the ground so I couldn't get up and continue running.

Once we finally contained our laughter, we both just stared into each other's eyes, taking in the moment.

"Even after all we've been through, I am still so in love with you," she whispered.

We both leaned in for a kiss, but it was a quick one as I pulled away to get out of her grip and stand up.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, still lying on the floor.

"No, my love. I just have to go to the bathroom,"

"Alright, well don't be long!"

"I won't be,"

I walked upstairs and entered my room rather than the bathroom. I sat down on my bed and started to think about what exactly we had been through. It had been two years since it all happened, and only one year since Nora and I were reunited, but I couldn't get what I had done out of my head.

* * *

 _2 YEARS AGO_

I kept hearing Nora call my name, but I continued running. Eventually, I began to cry and had to sit down to get control of myself. I found a log and decided to sit on that. I looked around, but I was unaware of where I was. I knew it was the forest, but I didn't know exactly where I had run to.

"Is somebody there?" a woman's voice asked suddenly.

I wiped my tears away and realized that I was starting to get hungry. Killing this woman would surely make me feel better.

"I'm only a girl. I'm lost and I just want to find my way home. Could you help me?"

My back was turned to the woman who had spoken, so she didn't see me grin.

"Of course, my darling child. My family and I were just out for a walk, trying to find my son,"

I turned around and she pointed to five people behind her; one seemed to be her husband, the other four her children.

"We can take you back to our house so that you have somewhere to sleep for the night, and then in the morning we will help you find your way back to your own house. Does that sound alright, darling?"

"Actually, I'd rather just kill you," I said, my smile growing wider.

An expression of pure confusion and fear appeared on each one of their faces. I sped over to the woman and drained her of all her blood. The others ran away—the chase was the best part, though. In a matter of minutes, I had drained each one of them of their blood. I was satisfied. But all of a sudden, I heard Valerie's voice from behind me: "Well hello there. I see you had some fun here,"

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

I went back downstairs after about ten minutes.

Nora had moved from the floor to the couch.

"That was _not_ fast,"

"Sorry, my love,"

"Come here,"

She patted her hand on the part of the couch next to her, signaling for me to come over, so I did.

She had a huge smile on her face: "Lily told me that we could have the whole house to ourselves tonight,"

"And why would we want _that_?" I asked, confused. Was I missing something?

Her smile faded almost immediately: "Do you not remember what today is?"

"Should I?"

"Yes!" she cried. "It's our one year anniversary. Well, I suppose it has been more than one year, but it has been one year without any bumps in the road—one complete year without us breaking up or being apart," she laughed.

"Right," I replied.

"Well, it's alright you forgot. I guess I didn't expect you to remember that sort of thing,"

Nora was always the one to like those cheesy sort of things. Her love for them grew on me over time, though, so I started to enjoy them as well.

"Sorry, my love. I should've known, but I guess I've been a little preoccupied,"

"With what?" she asked.

"Well, we have the whole night to ourselves. I'll save it for later," I put on a fake smile.

She agreed, assuming it was nothing to worry about.

* * *

 _2 YEARS AGO_

"What do you want, Valerie? How did you even find me?Did you follow me?"

"It wasn't hard to find you. Nora was worried about your whereabouts, so I offered to follow after you,"

"Well, you found me, so you can tell her I am fine. Now leave,"

"I don't think so,"

I rolled my eyes and started walking away, but she just followed me.

"Do you know who those people were?" she asked.

"No. And I don't care. But if you would like to go make friends with the dead, please do so. But I will be on my way,"

She laughed: "Nora will never forgive you,"

I stopped walking and turned around to face her.

"Forgive _me_? If anything, she should be worried about _me_ forgiving _her_ ,"

"I'm not talking about your pathetic little fight about Adam. He always annoyed me anyway; he bored me,"

"Well, he's dead now so no worries," I continued walking and she followed.

"Oh, really? I was unaware of that. I guess Nora must have disposed of the body. Well then that makes this even worse,"

"What are you babbling on about?"

"Those people who you just killed,"

"What about them? They were weak and stupid. How shocking,"

She laughed: "They were Adam's family,"

I stopped dead in my tracks but I didn't turn around to face her this time.

"What are you talking about?"

"You heard me, Mary Louise. They were Adam's family. What a shame,"

"Shut up!" I screamed. I was in shock.

"I'm sure Nora would love to hear that you not only killed Adam—thank you by the way—but you also killed his family. That will definitely help your relationship grow,"

"Be quiet, Valerie!"

I started to whisper to myself: "No! What have you done? Nora will never forgive you,"

"If you would stop talking to yourself like a crazy person, then maybe I will help you,"

I turned around to look at her. I nodded: "Go on,"

"I won't speak a word of this to Nora if you do me one tiny favor,"

"And what would that be?"

"I need you to find Stefan Salvatore and tell me how he is,"

"Stefan Salvatore? It will take ages to find him. Why do _I_ have to do this? _You_ do it,"

"Would you like me to go back and tell Nora what you have done to Adam's poor little family?"

"Alright, alright. Fine. But where will I tell Nora I am going?"

"You are not to see Nora until I know how Stefan is. You are to leave this instant. _I_ will make something up for you,"

I agreed.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

It was 9:00 in the evening. Our whole family had just left the house so that Nora and I would be able to celebrate together—alone.

"Mary Lou!" Nora screamed as she ran up to me, embracing me. "I can't believe it's been a full year. Can you?"

"No,"

She pulled back.

"You are very enthusiastic today I can see,"

"Sorry, but we need to talk,"

"Is this about what you've been preoccupied with,"

"Let's sit," I said.

"No it's fine. Let's just discuss it here. What's wrong?" she began to develop some concern in her tone.

"I just need you to know something,"

"What is it? And hurry up because I want to celebrate with you!"

"Nora, stop. This is serious,"

"Alright, alright. Go on, then,"

"When I left after I killed Adam, it's not what you think,"

"You mean you didn't leave because you felt guilty about killing Adam?"

"Not exactly,"

She looked very confused.

"I did something—something bad. And I wasn't sure you would be able to forgive me for it, but it's been on my mind lately and I hate that I've been lying to you,"

"Tell me what really happened, then,"

"I—"

"You _what_?" she began to get angry because I was taking a long time to get it out.

I looked down at the floor and whispered, "I killed Adam's whole family,"

"You did _what_?"

"I'm sorry, Nora. But you have to believe me, I didn't know they were his family!"

She walked upstairs without responding.


	11. Back

Thanks to everyone again who has left a review for me to see; they really help me to keep going with this story! I hope the time jumps don't get too confusing in this chapter. Thanks again—you guys are amazing—and remember to leave a comment, follow, or favorite!

Nora and Mary Louise: Back

 _2 YEARS AGO_

I sped away quickly. I had to fulfill Valerie's wants in order to hide what I had done. Every day, I wished I could take it back, but of course that could never be done. I killed them. I didn't care about their deaths, but I cared about what Nora's reaction would be. I feared she would somehow find out and then realize it was me who had done it. And she would never look at me the same way again.

….

It had been nine months since I had left Nora and the entire family. I spent every waking moment trying to find Stefan Salvatore. I tried as many locater spells as I could, but every spell told me a different location. One day he was in a place called Mystic Falls, another he was across the country. He was always on the move, making my life miserable as all I wanted was to return home to Nora. I had no idea what Valerie had told her regarding my sudden absence, but I hoped that whatever it was, she wasn't mad at me.

….

After another two months, I finally got a clear read on where he was located. He was in Mystic Falls, for good this time. Once I found him, I realized that that was just the beginning. Although I was not very fond of Valerie, I always kept my promises, and I promised Valerie I would find out exactly how he was. I, therefore, intended on keeping a close eye on him, watching his every move, and seeing exactly how he was living his life.

To be completely honest, in my eyes, his life was pretty boring, but I knew Valerie would want to know every detail, so I watched him for a while. And I owed it to Valerie to do everything she wanted since she was helping me keep my secret—a secret which could quite possible cause Nora to hate me.

….

After another month, I was done with my job. I was finally able to return home—to Nora—to my love.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

"Nora!" I pleaded as I knocked on her door. "I'm so sorry. You have no idea how much I have regretted that since the day it happened,"

"When did it happen?" she suddenly interjected through the door.

"Does it matter?" I said, not wanting to tell her how long it had been.

"Of course it matters!" she screamed.

"I don't know. Maybe about a year ago now,"

She opened the door almost immediately after I said that.

"You've kept this a secret from me for a year?"

"Yes, but only because—"

"Only because _what_? Because I'd hate you? Because I'd never forgive you? Well if you didn't want that to happen, then too bad! It just did! I hate you and I will never forgive you!"

She slammed the door in my face. I started hysterically crying. I sat down on the floor in the hall, my back pressed up against the door to Nora's room.

"I'm so sorry, Nora. I'm so sorry," I whispered.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

I finally returned home from my search for Stefan Salvatore. The first thing I wanted to do was to see Nora, but I knew I should speak to Valerie first to tell her my findings, and then to ask her what the situation regarding Nora and the rest of the family has been for the past year while I was gone. I needed to know what she told them for my reason for leaving.

I walked right up to the house, breathing in the smell of the place I used to live. The familiar scent gave me comfort as I walked up onto the porch. Suddenly, the memory of killing Adam came into my mind. It happened there—at that spot on the porch right in front of me. Then, Adam's family came into my head. Even if I hadn't killed Adam's family, Nora could still be mad about my killing Adam. I had just hoped that she hadn't found out about his family. A wave of nervousness ran through my veins. Suddenly, I heard Valerie's voice from behind me.

"You're back, I see,"

I turned around to face her.

"Yes, I am,"

"Come with me,"

We headed towards a secluded place—somewhere she knew we would be alone. We both sat down on a log on the forest ground.

"So tell me. How is Stefan? What did you find?"

"I found out everything you could possibly want to know. But first, how is Nora. Is she alright?"

"First tell me about Stefan and then I'll tell you about Nora,"

"Fine," I agreed, rolling my eyes. "He had been traveling a lot—not staying in one place—making it hard for me to find him. But I finally did. The reason for his travels I still do not know, but I didn't think it was important enough to find out. Anyway, he is with a woman; I think her name is Katherine. He seems to be in love and really happy,"

"That's it? A year away and that's all you tell me?"

"Well if you want to know every single detail, then that might take a little bit longer,"

"Then you might as well start now,"

"Please tell me how Nora is first," I pleaded.

"I will tell you everything. But you must go first,"

….

After about an hour, I had finished telling Valerie all that I had seen back in Mystic Falls.

"Alright. Now you know that Stefan is safe and happy, so now it's _your_ turn to talk,"

Valerie looked away, as if she was trying to hide something or was afraid to tell me something.

"What is it?" I asked nervously. "Is Nora hurt?"

"No. Nora is quite alright. In fact, she's great,"

"Why are you saying that as if it's bad?"

"Something has happened that you may be upset about…"

I nodded my head, telling her to go on.

"Well, when you left, I went back to the house with a plan of what I was going to say your reason for leaving was, but when I got back, I changed my mind,"

* * *

 _2 YEARS AGO_

"Nora, what happened?" Valerie said, pretending to play dumb to the situation at hand.

"Mary Lou and I got into a fight. And she ran off about an hour ago—I have no idea where she went,"

"Well I'm sure she will come back soon. Don't fret,"

"She killed Adam right in front of my eyes. She has become so protective lately—ever since my illness. But she has to understand that I don't _need_ her to protect me so much. I know how to protect myself!"

"Well she _is_ your girlfriend. And that's what people in a relationship do for each other,"

"You think I'm being too harsh on her?"

"Perhaps. I mean she did have you almost die in her arms. Literally,"

"Maybe you're right. I guess I should give her a break,"

Valerie looked away, realizing she was helping to fix a relationship that probably wouldn't survive as Mary Louise had just gone on a long journey and wouldn't be back or speak to Nora for a while.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

"She was so upset and I just—" Valerie got out.

"What did you tell her?" I asked.

"Well first let me just say that what I _wanted_ to say was that you had—"

"I don't care what you _wanted_ to say! What _did_ you say?" I demanded.

"I said that you ran away! I said that you felt so bad about Adam's death that you couldn't face her so you told me to tell her that you were leaving and that you wouldn't be back—at least for a little while," she blurted out.

I stood up from the log we had been sitting on and started screaming at her.

"I thought I could trust you!"

"I know, I know. I am _so_ sorry! But when I saw how upset she was, it just came out. I guess I just didn't want to see her sitting around, waiting for you, doing nothing with her life. I wanted her to move on—at least until you came back,"

"Well, I'm back now! And she thinks I just left her! Great. So where is she? I need to see her and clear all of this up,"

"No, wait. You can't ever tell her the real reason for your leaving. Lily and Julian must never know what I made you do,"

"Why?" I asked.

She didn't respond, so I didn't continue that conversation as I couldn't have cared less about the answer. All I cared about was Nora and making her understand what happened, but if I had to keep Valerie's lie then I had no idea what I was going to say.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You can apologize and then maybe she will forgive you for not saying goodbye,"

"This is all your fault, you know! _You_ were the one who made me believe that you would take care of Nora while I was gone, but you just made me look like a coward. And _you_ were the one who said I had to leave straight away and I wasn't able to say goodbye to Nora. But I guess _I_ am the fool who went along with all of it and trusted you!"

"Mary Louise, enough. I made you do this for me because I am willing to keep your secret. And think about it; what would you have said if I let you go say goodbye to Nora? Nothing you said would have been any better than what I said,"

She had a point even though I was unwilling to admit it.

"Where is Nora, anyway? I need to see her. I've missed her. I'll apologize and then we'll pick up where we left off. I know it,"

"I'm not so sure," Valerie quickly said.

"What does _that_ mean?"

"It means that—"

Suddenly, we heard a loud stomping noise from inside the house. I looked through the kitchen window, but nobody was there. Then, I saw a woman's figure with blonde hair rush by the upstairs window—Nora's bedroom window.

I turned back to Valerie: "Who was that? I know that wasn't anyone in our family,"

Then, I heard some laughter and, suddenly, I heard two voices. I turned towards the house again, then back at Valerie.

"Do you know who else is in there?"

"Yes, I do,"

"Well, who is it then?"

"Nora's…"

"Nora's _what_?"

"Girlfriend," she said.

My heart stopped.


	12. Confrontation

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a little while; I've been really busy for the past week. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Remember to comment, follow and favorite!

Nora and Mary Louise: Confrontation

 _1 YEAR AGO_

"What do you mean _girlfriend_?" I asked. My sadness began to turn into anger and confusion.

Before I let her respond, I continued: "How did this happen?"

"I am truly sorry, Mary Louise. I didn't think she would move on. I really thought she would wait for you,"

"Well she didn't, did she," I paused for a minute.

"Is she happy?" I asked.

Valerie was silent and looked down at the ground.

"Is she happy?" I asked again, my tone of voice getting louder and more inpatient.

"Yes," she finally blurted out. I didn't realize it at first, but tears had started to fall from my eyes.

"How long has this been going on for?" I managed to get out through my tears.

"About six months,"

"She only waited six months to move on from our relationship? We were in love!"

At that point, I stopped yelling at Valerie and started to yell to myself: "I can't believe this has happened! What is going on? You have to fix this. You have to, Mary Louise,"

"Mary Louise," Valerie interrupted.

I looked up at her: "Maybe you should just speak with her and this will all be sorted out,"

"You're right,"

The words came out of my mouth sounding confident, but inside I wasn't so sure. In her mind, I had abandoned her, and I wasn't sure how she felt about me anymore.

* * *

 _2 YEARS AGO_

"Where is she?" Nora screamed.

Valerie was woken up by the loud noises in the kitchen; she immediately came downstairs and asked what was wrong.

"Mary Louise—she's—she's not here. She's been gone for three days. I thought maybe she would need a day to cool off and then come back, but three? Something is wrong. I need to go find her,"

"No!" Valerie suddenly said.

"Why not? Do you know something I don't?"

Valerie's face said it all and Nora knew.

"What did she tell you?" she asked.

Valerie looked from Nora to Lily to Julian who were all in the kitchen, trying to figure out where Mary Louise could have gone. Valerie thought about what she was going to tell Nora the reason was for Mary Louise's absence, but when she saw how upset Nora was after only three days, she knew what she had to say.

"She left,"

"What do you mean she left? Obviously she left. She's not here!" Nora said, frustrated at that answer.

"No. I mean she _left_. As in she's not coming back. I am so sorry, Nora, but Mary Louise told me to tell you that her guilt about Adam was just too much to handle and she couldn't face you. She said she needed to leave for a while,"

Nora was speechless. She looked behind her at Lily and Julian, shocked at the words she had just heard, hoping this was some kind of joke.

Her mouth opened to say something, but all that came out was the sound of sobbing.

"What—am—am—I—suppo—supposed—to—to do now? I love h—her" she was able to get out in pieces.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

I waited for the other girl to leave the house which happened to be about an hour later. That's when I went inside, upstairs to Nora's room to finally be reunited with her. As I walked up the stairs, I felt a wave of nervousness wrap around me like a blanket, holding me back, but I pushed through it and was able to make my way to Nora's room. I knocked on the door.

After a couple of seconds, the door started to open. Although, in reality, it was only about five seconds for the door to completely open, it seemed like an eternity; I had waited for this moment for so long and it was finally here. Was I ready for it? Was Nora? Before I could finish my thoughts, I saw Nora's face and all of my doubts faded away.

I stared into her big, beautiful eyes, started to smile and said, "Hello, Nora,"

She jumped back, startled to see me. She looked around as if she was uncomfortable or as if she thought it wasn't real.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"We need to talk,"

"We certainly do not. You left _me_ , remember?"

I wanted to blurt out the fact that I _didn_ _'_ _t_ leave her—that I was actually protecting her from a secret that would cause her much sadness. But I knew I couldn't.

"Can I just explain,"

"You don't deserve that. You left me here without even a note for a goodbye; you told Valerie of all people! I should've been the one you talked to! I _loved_ you and you left me stranded; I was lost for so long,"

I wanted to tell her it wasn't _that_ long considering my anger towards having found out she started dating someone else only six months after I left, but I didn't want to have two fights at one time. I wanted to focus on _us_ for now.

"You hurt me, Mary Lou. You really hurt me. And I won't let you bring up those memories again; I have moved on and am happy, so please just leave. Again. Go back to where you ran off to,"

She slammed her bedroom door in my face.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

I knocked on Nora's door for about ten minutes straight. It seemed like déjà vu.

"Nora, please open up! We need to talk about this!"

"No we don't!" she screamed from inside. "Just go away,"

"Stop it. If you don't open the door, I am going to break it down. And don't test me, because I _will_ do it,"

I supposed she believed me, which she should've, because she opened the door up seconds after I said that.

She peeped her head through the opening, blocking my way inside.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"No,"

I wasn't going to push my limits, so I agreed to stand outside in the hallway.

"Nora, I really didn't know. You know I would never intentionally hurt people you care about,"

"You hurt Adam!" she said. "How can I trust you?"

"Because you love me and that's what girlfriends are supposed to do! Trust and forgive,"

"It's not that simple, Mary Lou, and you know that! You not only killed him, but you killed his whole family! How could you?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but she interrupted.

"And how have you kept this secret for a year, pretending everything's been okay? How could you not tell me that?"

"I'm sorry! I was trying to protect you!"

"You killed his family to protect me? What the hell?"

"No, I left because I killed them and I knew you would hate me for it! So yes I kept it a secret for this long, pretending everything was okay when really I was dying on the inside, because I didn't want you to feel that same way,"

I started to tear and saw that Nora had as well.

She brought me in for a tight embrace. She hadn't responded to what I had said, but she didn't need to; that hug meant more to me than any words she could've said.


	13. Misery

Nora and Mary Louise: Misery

 _2 YEARS AGO_

It had been about two months since I had left Nora—at least in _her_ mind I left; in my mind, I was protecting her.

"Nora, are you alright?" Lily asked.

Nora hadn't left her bed at all. And, ironically, she had barely slept.

"I'm fine," she responded in a robotic way, her eyes looking off into space as if nothing mattered anymore.

"Nora, that's enough. I've been watching you drown yourself in misery for the past two months, and this is not healthy. Mary Louise is gone, okay? None of us are happy about that, but you can't sit here and mope all day every day for the next five years. Now I'm not saying that you should forget about her and move on right now, but you should be enjoying life and working towards moving on,"

Nora knew she was right, but her heartache couldn't just stop whenever she wanted it to; the love of her life had just disappeared out of nowhere, and Valerie of all people had been the one to tell her.

"Come on," Lily continued. "Get up, get dressed out of these hideous pajamas. We are going shopping,"

Nora gave her a look that said: _Ugh, I don_ _'_ _t want to go shopping_.

As if Lily knew exactly what she was thinking, she said, "And you are going to enjoy it. So put on a smile and let's go,"

Nora obeyed.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

After Nora refused to speak with me, I walked back to my old room; I hadn't realized how much I and missed the house until I was in it again. My bed was so comfortable and Nora's scent filled the air in every room; I missed that.

The next morning, I smelled pancakes. I rushed downstairs, hoping to see everyone again and surprise them.

"Hello everyone!" I screamed as I rushed to hug each one of them; first, Julian, then Lily, then Malcolm, then Beau, and then Oscar. They all welcomed me back with open arms, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nora sitting down at the kitchen table, looking disgusted to see me as well as to see everyone so happy to see me.

I glanced at her for a moment, but she turned her head, so I did, too.

"Why are you here?" Malcolm blurted out.

" _How_ are you here?" Oscar asked.

"Where did you go?" followed Julian.

"Everyone, everyone. The most important thing is that she is back and our family is reunited. Let's all sit down and have breakfast, and Mary Louise can discuss her whereabouts with us later on," Lily calmly said, breaking up all the commotion. Everyone agreed, as always; Lily _was_ normally right as she was the most logical.

We all sat around the table; I sat in my usual spot right next to Nora. Neither of us switched spots because we didn't want to cause a big scene. I wished she would at least look at me, but throughout breakfast, she made sure not to even glance at me once.

"So Mary Louise, did you miss us?" Julian asked.

"Yeah, did you?" Malcolm asked.

"Of course she did! We are pretty amazing. It would be hard not to," Oscar said.

We all laughed, except Nora.

"I missed all of you. Very much,"

All of the chairs around the table were pretty close together, so Nora's was about an inch away from mine. I saw that her hand lay on her leg closest to me. I wanted to give her space and give her time because I knew seeing me was a shock, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to touch her—to be close to her again—I _had_ to. I reached my hand under the table and lightly placed it on her hand.

Seconds later, I felt her hand pull away and she said, "Excuse me, but I have to go get ready,"

She left the table.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

Nora and I were held in that embrace for what seemed like an hour. Eventually, she started to pull away.

"Mary Lou?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"I'm sorry for doubting your intentions for leaving,"

"It's alright, my love. Who could blame you? Just know that I would _never_ leave you if it wasn't for your protection; it was the hardest year—being without you is not something I ever want,"

I expected her to at least smile from my response, but she didn't. In fact, it seemed like that made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"You know I don't fully forgive you yet, though, right?" she said.

I didn't respond because I was hoping she _had_ forgiven me fully.

"I mean, this was a lot to take in. I think I just need some time to think about it all,"

"Alright," I said with a confused tone.

There was a pause.

"What does that mean for _us_?"

"I don't know," she said, her voice fading.

"Wait. Is this a breakup? Are you breaking up with me?"

Nora looked away.

"Nora! Are you breaking up with me?"

"Let's not call it a breakup, alright? It's more like a break. I just need time, Mary Lou. And you are going to have to respect that,"

"But I _love_ you! I said I was sorry!"

"I know you did. But sometimes sorry is not enough. And if you really love me, you will let me deal with this for as long as I need," she said as she walked back into her room, leaving me alone; she was the one who was leaving _me_ stranded this time.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

After we all finished breakfast and I finished catching up with everyone, I went upstairs to go see Nora. I wanted to talk to her again.

Her bedroom door was open, so I walked in, closing it behind me.

"What do you want, Mary Lou?" she asked without even turning around. She was sitting on her chair across the room, facing a mirror.

"I just want to talk with you,"

"Well I don't feel like it,"

"Nora, come on. Please. You can't avoid me forever,"

"Would you like to make a bet on that?"

"Nora,"

"Alright, fine. Speak,"

"Can you at least face me?"

She looked at me through the mirror.

"I mean _really_ face me,"

She unwillingly turned around in her chair.

"Go on,"

"First of all, I know I hurt you and I cannot tell you how sorry I am. But you know how much I love you,"

She rolled her eyes: "People who love each other don't leave one another just because some things get hard; you left me, Mary Lou. Do you get that? You have no idea how destroyed I was. I didn't leave my bed for months. I barely ate, I barely drank, I barely did anything at all. And I told myself that you would come back because being without you was torture for me and I thought it would be the same for you. But I guess not,"

"That's not true!" I started to inch towards her. "Every single day I would dream about being reunited with you, but I thought it was better if I was gone because I killed Adam and I thought you hated me," I stuck to Valerie's story, but inside, I was rolling my eyes because I just wanted to tell her the horrible truth.

"But I didn't hate you!"

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"Well if you came back to say goodbye then you would have!" she yelled.

"I know I made a mistake by not going to you, but I can't redo the past. If I could, I would, but I can't. So can we try to move forward, not backwards?"

"Look, Mary Lou. If you came back a year ago, I would've welcomed you with open arms just like the rest of our family. I would've told you I loved you and that I forgave you for leaving. But now, I just can't. I don't forgive you,"

"But Nora I—"

"No. Stop. Just leave,"

"But I love you! I need you!"

"Well I needed you a year ago and you weren't there for me; you never came!"

"You are going to have to forgive me at some point. So please just forgive me now! I love you so much and I am so sorry. I promise never to cause you pain ever again,"

"I'm sorry but I can't be with you. I don't love you anymore,"


	14. The Girl

Nora and Mary Louise: The Girl

 _2 YEARS AGO_

Another three months had passed since I had left. She was no longer sad. In fact, she was happier than she had been in a very long time. She made new friends and she started doing new things; thanks to Lily pushing her to move on, she finally did. She didn't even think about me that much anymore. Instead, she focused on other things.

"Hello, Amanda," Lily said as she opened the door. "Nora is right upstairs. You are welcome to go to her room and join her,"

"Alright, thank you," the blonde responded. She walked up the stairs and entered Nora's room.

"Oh, come in. Sorry, I forgot you were coming over," Nora said.

"That's quite alright,"

Amanda walked over to Nora's bed and sat down while Nora sat in her chair.

"Would you like to go shopping?" Amanda asked.

"No. I am not really in the mood,"

"Alright. Well what shall we do then?"

Amanda had become one of Nora's closest friends in the three months that they knew each other. They met inside one of the stores Nora shopped at, so usually they went shopping as they had that hobby in common. She had told her about everything; she even told her about every detail of her relationship with me. Although, she left out the fact that she was in a relationship with a woman; she told Amanda her boyfriend's name was Adam.

Nora rarely thought about me, but she remembered certain things—things that weren't ways to just forget like the walks we always took or the dinners we had every week to ourselves. She didn't _want_ to remember them, though. So, when Amanda asked her to go shopping and she said no, she thought of the walks her and I would take together on Sundays. It was Sunday. So she decided to invite Amanda to go on a walk in hopes of erasing the memory of those walks being _just_ for her and I.

"Would you like to go on a walk?" Nora asked.

"Sure. Let's go,"

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

Nora didn't love me anymore. Those words kept running through my mind all through the night. I couldn't sleep. And for the next few days, I couldn't do anything. I was heartbroken. But then one day, I realized that that is how Nora must have felt for a year. I felt awful for leaving but I knew I couldn't change what had been done; I had to find a way to fix it.

I heard laughter come from Nora's room. Her girlfriend was there. I rolled my eyes and covered my ears every time I heard her laugh; it was like my heart was being broken to pieces over and over again every second.

"How did she get a girlfriend?" I asked Valerie. "I just don't understand. Especially with how two women being together is viewed; how did they even find out they liked each other. And do they love each other?"

I could've gone on and on with questions but Valerie stopped me.

"I don't know every detail of their relationship, but I will tell you what I _do_ know,"

I nodded, implying for her to go on.

She continued: "As I told you they got together about six months ago. I don't know _how_ or anything specific about the beginning of their relationship, but they kept it pretty quiet and secret for a while. Lily and Julian only found out about them two months after they had started dating. And as for the love part—"

She paused.

"Go on," I said.

"Well, I've heard Amanda—"

"Don't say her name!"

There was an awkward silence for a couple seconds and then Valerie continued her sentence: "I've heard _her_ say it, but I haven't heard Nora say it. I don't know if that means she hasn't, or if I just haven't heard it, so don't set your hopes too high. Anyway, she's happy. So maybe you should just let her be,"

I gave Valerie a deathly stare, causing her to leave. I wanted Nora to be happy, but I wanted her to be happy with _me_. Maybe that was selfish, but I didn't know how to move on. I didn't want to. Because I loved her. And as far as I knew, she didn't love _that girl_ , so in my mind, getting her back wasn't that far fetched.

* * *

 _2 YEARS AGO_

"Didn't you tell me once that you took walks here with Adam?"

"Yes. I suppose I just want to dissociate any memory of him,"

"Alright, good. I'm glad you are finally moving on. I think this is good for you,"

Amanda smiled at Nora and Nora smiled back. Amanda's smile was contagious and it always made Nora feel better. In fact, _whenever_ Amanda was around, Nora felt better. She was always there for her; they were extremely close. Maybe Nora felt something more, but she told herself she never acted on it because she wasn't sure if she was completely ready to start something new. In reality, she never acted on it because she wasn't sure how Amanda felt; Nora was ready.

After an hour walk, they went back to Nora's house.

Once they stepped onto the porch, Nora said, "Well, that was fun. We should do that again soon,"

"Definitely," Amanda replied, smiling, making Nora smile again.

"I love your smile," Nora suddenly said. She wished she hadn't said it the second it came out, but she already did.

"Thanks," Amanda said awkwardly. She looked away and continued with, "I should probably get home,"

"Right. Yeah, you should probably get home,"

Amanda walked off the porch and started walking away, Nora watching as she left.

Then, she turned around abruptly.

"I love your smile, too,"

She continued walking. A smile formed on Nora's face once again. She was happy.


	15. Letting Go

Nora and Mary Louise: Letting Go

 _1 YEAR AGO_

For two weeks I did everything I could to get Nora back. I reminded her of the good times we had together, i apologized time and time again, and I even brought up her new girlfriend and told her that there is no way she could be happier with her than she was with me. Despite my efforts, Nora didn't budge. She was still mad at me and she claimed to be happy with her new partner.

One day, Nora's girlfriend came over. That was the first time I had truly seen them together and interact with one another. I saw how big Nora's smile was whenever she even looked at _that girl_. I noticed how well _that girl_ treated Nora. And then I realized something. Trying to get Nora back would be taking her away from something that makes her extremely happy. Did I want Nora as _my_ girlfriend? Of course. But I knew Nora's happiness should have been the most important thing to me considering all the hell I put her through.

After her girlfriend left the house, I asked Nora if I could speak with her privately.

"Mary Lou, please just leave me be. I am happy with Amanda and I don't want to—"

"I know," I interrupted.

"Wait, what? You know?"

"I saw how you too are around each other. She treats you really well—she acts like you are a princess which is how she _should_ be treating you. And you seem to be really happy. And when you are happy, I am happy,"

I paused, waiting to see if she would say anything in response but she didn't. So, I went on.

"Anyway I just wanted to let you know that I am done trying to make you fall back in love with me. Even if you don't love me, I will always love you. And because of that, I can't try to take you away from your happiness. So I just want to let you know that I accept that you have moved on and I will now try to move on as well," I smiled, knowing I was doing the right thing even if it didn't feel like the right thing in that moment. I stopped tears from welling up in my eyes.

"Well if you have nothing to say I guess I will just leave you here," I walked away from her, and then turned back as I heard her start to say something.

"Thank you," she whispered.

I nodded and responded with, "If you end up with—with your girlfriend—and if I move on as well, I just want you to know that our time together—the love we shared for one another—those moments will never leave my memory. I will always cherish them and I will always care about you. So even though you may not love me anymore, just know I will always be here for you whenever you may need my help,"

She smiled and nodded her head. But as I turned my head to walk away and to hide the tears that were unwillingly about to fall from my eyes, I saw some tears well up in her eyes as well.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

"You said the other night that if I loved you, then I would let you deal with this for as long as you need. However, if I had done that a year ago, we would not be where we are right now,"

"A year ago you let me move on. That's what I need from you right now,"

"But after I said that, we became close again and I eventually kept trying to get you back which worked obviously. I mean look at us now; you are no longer with _that girl_ ,"

"Why can't you just say her name?"

"Why do I have to? She took you from me so sorry if I don't want to say her name,"

"She didn't _take_ anything from you. First off, I am not a toy. And secondly, you left,"

"Alright, alright. Enough with the fighting and bringing up the past,"

"Well our fight is _about_ the past, so deal with it!"

"Nora, I don't know what else to say! I explained myself and yet that's not good enough for you,"

"So then give me some time to process everything and stop trying to control my feelings,"

"I'm not trying to control your feelings! I'm just—"

I stopped.

"You know what? You are right," I said as I walked out of the door, leaving the house and leaving Nora alone.

She _was_ right. If this was going to turn out the way I wanted it to—and hopefully the way Nora wanted it too as well—then I had to go about this the way I did when we got back together the last time. I would give her time. I would give her space. And we would slowly but surely become close again. And when I feel that the time is right—and she will feel it, too—we will get back together and we will be happy again.

* * *

 _2 YEARS AGO_

"Nora! Nora!" Amanda called as she ran into Nora's bedroom. "Look what I found!"

"Oh my god! You found my necklace! Thank you, thank you! Wait; where did you even find it?"

"It was inside my couch; we probably should have looked there weeks ago since you are always on my couch,"

They both laughed.

"Well, thank you," Nora said as she tried to put it on herself. However, she was having trouble clipping it in the back.

"Do you want me to help?" Amanda asked, her big blue eyes opening wide like they did every time she asked a question.

"Oh. Sure. I suppose that would be helpful," Nora chuckled awkwardly.

Amanda smiled and walked over towards Nora.

"Mary I?"

Nora handed her the necklace and moved her hair to the side while Amanda stood behind her, wrapping the necklace around her neck.

Nora felt Amanda's hands on the back of her neck, making her flinch a little and causing her to inhale deeply, trying to keep her berthing at a steady pace.

"Are your hands shaking?" Nora asked.

"Oh. Sorry. I guess I—. I don't know. Maybe,"

Finally, after some struggle, Amanda clipped the necklace and it fell into place on Nora's neck.

She turned around to face Amanda who seemed nervous.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Nothing at all," Amanda replied.

"Alright," Nora said, placing her hand on Amanda's arm, rubbing it up and down to try and calm her down. Nora's feelings had grown every day for Amanda. But she didn't know exactly how Amanda felt about her. Maybe she was overthinking everything and Amanda wasn't even into girls. Nora didn't want to risk it because she knew what Amanda would think of her if she happened to not feel the same way. And she cherished their friendship and connection too much at this point to put that in jeopardy.

Amanda jumped back after Nora started to rub her arm.

"Sorry. I was—just trying to—to calm you down," Nora stammered. She started to feel uncomfortable and wished she hadn't even touched Amanda. A piece of her hair fell in front of her face and Amanda quickly reached out her hand and pushed it back behind her ear.

"Thanks," Nora said, Amanda's face close to hers now.

"Well, it's probably time for dinner, so maybe we should go downstairs," Nora walked towards the door, hoping Amanda would follow without saying anything.

"Nora, wait. Come here for a moment,"

She turned around and slowly walked back towards Amanda, wishing she hadn't ruined anything. Suddenly, Amanda reached her hand out to cup her face and pulled her in for a kiss. It had been a long time since Nora had kissed someone, but kissing Amanda felt right—it felt comfortable and safe.


	16. Space

Hi everyone! Sorry this chapter is a little short. I have been really busy lately, but I will try to write more this week! Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Space

 _1 YEAR AGO_

It had been a month since Nora and I had spoken. When we passed each other in the house, we would say "hello" to each other, but our conversations didn't go further than that. In the beginning, as hard as it was for me to see Nora move on and to not even speak to her, I knew in the end everything would work out. However, I felt differently at this point. I saw Nora and _that girl_ every day together, laughing and hugging and just being happy. And then, one day, I told myself that getting Nora back may not happen; Nora's future may not include me and I had to make sure I was okay with that. So, for two weeks now, I have been focusing on anything but Nora, trying to really move on. Although I didn't fall in love with someone else to do so, I still was able to sort of forget about her and about us. It wasn't easy, but I worked really hard to do that.

A couple weeks later, Nora came to my room, crying. At first, I wasn't sure what to say because I didn't really know why she was coming to me, but I still cared for her.

"What's wrong?" I finally asked.

"Amanda. She—she broke up with me,"

Her tears continued to fall. I wasn't sure if I should comfort her or let her be because it had been so long since we were together—or even talked.

"I know I probably shouldn't be coming to you about this, but I don't want to discuss this with anyone else. Can I just stay in here for a little while?"

I was silent and taken aback. She wanted to stay in my room? Was Amanda breaking up with her all it took for her to want me back? Well, even if it was, I worked hard to move on and I did a pretty good job of it. Did I still love Nora? Of course. Did I still want to be in a relationship with her after she moved on with some other woman? Not too much, no. As crazy as it sounded to hear myself think that, it was the truth. I didn't know if I even wanted to get back together with Nora at this point; I did feel a little betrayed even though I know she didn't do anything wrong since I left. However, when she asked if she could stay in my room, I remembered my promise to her about how she could always come to me whenever, and I intended to keep my promise.

"I'll take that as a no, then," she said.

She turned around and headed for the door when I said, "Alright,"

She turned back around: "You can stay in here a little while if you wish," I continued.

She smiled and walked over to the couch, sitting down.

I smiled back at her and said, "I told you that you could come to me about anything even if you don't love me anymore. And I truly meant that. So I am glad you are here,"

"Thanks," she said as she laid down on the couch, trying to fall asleep.

* * *

 _2 YEARS AGO_

Nora and Amanda had started to see each other secretly. Not only did they have to hide their relationship from society, but they also had to hide it from their families; neither one of them wanted to tell their families because Amanda's was not accepting of lesbians and Nora didn't want her family thinking she moved on too quickly from me. However, it wasn't hard they didn't mind hiding it as they always just hung out in Nora's room. They never really went anywhere else, but before that they didn't do much else either, so nobody thought anything of it.

After two months of being together and spending most of their time with one another, their relationship grew stronger each day. Nora decided to tell her family about Amanda because her feelings at that point were too strong to hide and she felt like they deserved to know what was happening. Of course, everyone was alright with it because they knew she had to move on from me eventually.

After she told her family, she went back upstairs to rejoin Amanda.

"I just told them," Nora smiled.

"Were they alright with it? Do they want me gone? Do they—"

"Amanda, calm down," Nora said as she took her hands and placed them on Amanda's shoulders.

"They love you and they are accepting of us. Don't worry,"

"Sorry," Amanda replied. "Just my parents aren't so I guess I always get scared when telling other people,"

"I know, I know. But we don't have to hide here anymore in this confined little room,"

They both smiled and gave each other a quick kiss on the lips.

As they exited, Amanda started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Nora asked, amused at her laugh. She always did love her laugh.

"It's just—"

"What?" Nora asked again as Amanda broke into more laughter.

"I just love you so much,"

The laughter coming from Amanda stopped after she realized what she had said. Nora, on the other hand, had started to smile.

She brought Amanda in for an embrace and Amanda held onto her tightly, relieved that she didn't move too fast for Nora by saying that. However, Nora didn't say it back. She _couldn_ _'_ _t_ for some reason. Maybe she wanted to, maybe she didn't; she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was happy to hear Amanda say it, but unable to say it back to her.


	17. Moving On

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have been super busy with work, but I will try to update as soon as possible. I was able to find time to write this chapter, so I hope you like it! Thanks again to everyone who reads these chapters and follows this story!

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Moving On

 _1 YEAR AGO_

It was hard at first to be around Nora so much since there were still feelings there. She started to talk to me more and more as the days went on. She mostly talked about Amanda while I tried to comfort her. However, after a couple of weeks, I stopped feeling weird about being near her all the time and talking about her girlfriend—ex-girlfriend. We became close—close friends. Nothing more. And I was completely okay with that because even though I would probably always care about her, I felt like I was beginning to move on. The way Nora talked about Amanda made me sad at first because I could tell she had real feelings for her, but after a while, I realized that I wanted to feel that with someone again. And given my history with Nora, I wasn't so sure I would get that with Nora. So, I told myself that I would start dating again.

One night, I decided to act on that thought.

"Malcolm," I said once I stepped into the kitchen.

He turned around to face me and asked, "Yes?"

"Come with me," I walked outside and he followed.

"Where are we going?"

"Out,"

"Well, obviously. But where?"

I suddenly stopped in my tracks, making him do the same.

"Is something wrong?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.

"I just need to get out there and move on,"

"From Nora, you mean,"

"Yes, alright. From Nora," I paused. But when he said nothing else, I continued: "Look, you may not believe it, but I _am_ ready to move on and let Nora move on as well. We have become close, and I am completely fine with being just friends. In fact, I think that is what's best right now,"

"Mary Louise, you know I am always on your side and am there to protect you. So I trust that you are ready if you say you are and I am happy for you. But just know that if you aren't, that's okay also, and I will be here for you,"

I teared up a little.

"Alright let's not get all sentimental," I said, wiping the tears that fell on my face.

"There's the old Mary Louise that I missed and love. Always sassy," he laughed.

I rolled my eyes, smiling.

"Alright, lets' keep moving," he said. So we did.

* * *

 _2 YEARS AGO_

"Sorry about the other day," Amanda said.

"What do you mean?" Nora asked.

"You know. When I said that I love—"

"Right, right," Nora said, cutting her off. "Don't be sorry,"

"I know this might be moving too quickly for you. I am glad you are fine with me saying it, but just know that I am okay if you don't want to say it right now. My feeling for you won't change,"

Nora smiled, relieved that Amanda was okay with her not having said it.

"I don't deserve you," Nora said, smiling.

"I think it's the other way around," Amanda replied, leaning in to kiss Nora.

For the next few weeks, Nora and Amanda spent even more time together now that they could be out in the open with their relationship—at least open in Nora's house. They became much closer because of it and feelings grew for the both of them.

Amanda told Nora she loved her every day before she left to go back to her house, and it never felt weird for her until one night.

"I love you," Amanda said to Nora. Nora smiled and brought her in for an embrace before kissing her, like always. However, this time, Amanda pulled away from the kiss.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked.

"I know I said that I was okay with you not saying you love me back, but it's been about a month since then. And I am starting to wonder if this is even going anywhere in your mind, because it is for me. We've been together for three months and every day my feelings grow stronger; do your feelings not?" She paused. Moments later, she continued: Do you think you'll ever get to that point with me?"

Nora looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact. She didn't know what to say.

"Amanda, I care for you so much. I just don't know exactly how I feel. You know I was in a relationship before you, and that ended horribly. So I might just have to take this a lot slower. I thought you were okay with that, but if you're not then—"

"Stop. No. Breaking up is not something that has ever crossed my mind. I _love_ you. You know that. And I want to be with you even if you want to take it slower. But I just need to know that you see this going somewhere,"

Nora looked up from the ground and stared directly into Amanda's eyes.

"Of course I see this going somewhere. I want to be with you, too,"

They both smiled and then kissed each other, nobody pulling away this time.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

It had been a month since I told Nora I would give her space. We hadn't really spoken in that time. I told myself that this would be exactly like a year ago when I gave her space and then we eventually got back together. However, if I wanted it to work out the same way, then I would need to find someone to make her jealous first. Of course a year ago, I didn't get a girlfriend in order to make Nora jealous, but it ended up working out that way. This time, I was planning it.

One day, I was out shopping, when I saw a beautiful girl walk past me. I thought she would be the perfect person to make Nora jealous, allowing me to get her back.

"Hello," I said. "I am Mary Louise. What's your name?"

"Jenna," she replied.

"Hello, Jenna. It's nice to meet you,"

"You too," she said, smiling.

"I don't mean to be too forward, but would you like to grab some coffee tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry, but I actually have plans,"

"Really? Well, what about in two days then?"

"I am really busy this time of year. Maybe some other time, though," she started to walk away, that smile still on her face.

I grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes, saying, "You will cancel whatever plans you have tomorrow and will come over to my house around 3:00. You will say that we have been dating for about a month and you will act like you are in love with me to make my girlfriend jealous,"

She nodded. I walked away.


	18. New Girl

Hey everyone. I know this chapter is really short, but I really don't have a lot of time this week to write. Hope you enjoy this little chapter!

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: New Girl

 _1 YEAR AGO_

For a month, Malcolm and I went out every night, searching for someone who was good enough for me in my eyes. However, it _was_ hard to find someone as good as Nora; even if I didn't want to admit it, Nora really was close to perfect.

One night, Malcolm came running towards me in the bar we always went to.

"Mary Louise! Mary Louise!"

"What is it, Malcolm?" I asked.

"I think I found someone," he started smiling. I trusted Malcolm more than anyone, so when he finally told me he thought there was someone who would be up to my standards and who he liked, I was ecstatic and hopeful.

"Come," he said, taking my hand and dragging me across the bar to meet this girl. "This is Hailey," he said once we stopped in front of a group of girls. I wasn't sure which one was Hailey, but Malcolm pointed to her a little later, allowing me to realize who the girl I was supposed to talk to was. She was out with a bunch of her friends who were all pretty, but she was by far the most gorgeous. Nora was beautiful, but this girl was right up there with her. She had long, thick, brown hair; it was mostly straight but it had some curls at the very bottom. I was captivated by her and her charm. She was funny and sassy; just my type. I looked at Malcolm while the group of girls started to talk amongst themselves, whispering "Thank you,". He nodded and walked away, leaving me alone with the girls.

"Hailey?"

"Yes?" she questioned.

"Would you like to go on a stroll outside? It's quite crowded and loud in here,"

"Sure," she smiled. I pulled out my hand, she grabbed it, and we walked out of the bar together.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

"Who is this?" Nora asked when opening the door to find a strange woman.

" _This_ is Jenna," I said, smiling. I pulled Jenna before Nora closed the door.

"Who is Jenna?"

"I'm her girlfriend!" Jenna said happily.

Nora looked confused; she stared at me for a while, but I knew if this plan was going to work, I had to pretend to not care about Nora's reactions and pretend to be in love with this random girl.

"Well, we will be upstairs if you need us," I said.

Jenna started walking up the stairs, but as I tried to follow her, I was stopped by Nora grabbing me.

"What the hell, Mary Lou?"

"What are you talking about? You told me to move on. I am doing just that. I am actually happy, but

"So you're telling me that this isn't some random girl you picked up at a bar or something and told her to pretend to be your girlfriend?"

"That's exactly what I am telling you. That's not the case. I am dating someone else and—"

"For how long?" she cut me off. She placed her hands on her hips as she did not seem to believe me.

"A month," I replied.

"A _month_? Okay, even if I were to believe this, which I don't, why did I not hear about this from you?"

"This is real whether you like it or not. And I didn't tell you because I wanted to avoid this exact reaction,"

"Mary Lou, stop lying. I know you're playing games. I don't want you trying to get me back through these silly little games,"

"Nora, enough! Not everything is always about you. I moved on. I am happy. I am not trying to get you back. This is a not a game!"

"I don't believe you!" she screamed angrily.

I was desperate for her to believe me, so I shouted out in return: "I _love_ her, Nora!"

Quiet.


	19. The Act

Hey guys! I'm really sorry it's been so long since I've updated but I have been super busy. I will try to write more often for the remainder of the summer :) Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Nora and Mary Louise: The Act

 _PRESENT DAY_

It had been about a month since Nora met Jenna. Once I told her I loved her, she seemed devastated. I wanted right away to blurt out the truth; that I loved Nora and Jenna was a random girl. But I couldn't. Nora wanted space and I knew that this was the only way to get her back.

Every day after that, I made sure to hang out with Jenna—at our house—so that Nora could witness our "love", of course. Nora seemed to be skeptical at times since I am not such a great actress and I wasn't really in love with Jenna. However, every time Nora questioned our relationship, I kept telling her I loved her—that shut her up pretty quick. I always felt bad but I thought about the end result and knew it was the only way.

One day, Nora and I got into an argument about Jenna once again.

"Do you think this is a game?" she demanded.

"Nora I am not playing any games! We have been through this. You know that I love Jenna because I tell you that all the time. So just accept it; you're the one who wanted me to move on,"

"I wanted space. And yes maybe I wanted you to move on. But not that quick; especially with someone you don't really love,"

"I do!" I shouted angrily. It frustrated me how smart she was to not believe me. It made me love her even more. But I had to keep up the act.

"You've never even kissed her," Nora said. "I know this is all pretend,"

"Oh yeah?" I replied out of anger. I immediately pulled Jenna from behind me and pressed my lips against hers. I kept that position for what seemed like five minutes; just to prove to Nora that this was real.

Finally, when I pulled away from the kiss, Nora looked at me. At first I thought it was my imagination, but then I realized it wasn't—Nora's eyes filled with tears and her face was in a state of shock. She was hurt by thinking that I had truly moved on with someone, so fast.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

Hailey and I had been on about three dates when I realized I had real feelings for her and she wasn't just a rebound girl. She was special.

"You know this is our third date, right?" Hailey asked.

"Of course," I said, smiling.

"Well you know what they say,"

I looked curiously at her: "No. What do they say?"

"Three times the charm," she laughed.

"Oh, is that what they say," I smirked.

"Yes. Yes it is. And I would agree with what they say because every date with you gets better each time. So this third date is the best so far; like a charm,"

I couldn't help but blush. Hailey was such a romantic even though she had a sassy side like me. We always had some soft moments with each other.

We had been walking in a park outside near the restaurant we had eaten at. But suddenly, she stopped walking. Her sudden stop caused me to be thrown back a little because we were holding hands and I had kept walking. I turned around.

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously.

"Nothing. I just want to cherish this moment with you. You are really something,"

"If anything I should be cherishing this moment with _you_ because you are amazing,"

Hailey truly was amazing even though we had known each other only a week. We clearly both liked each other since we had three dates in that one week.

"When are you free next to get together?" she asked.

"Hailey, we aren't even done with _this_ date yet," I laughed.

"I know but I can't wait to have many more dates with you,"

I smiled and she stopped again. This time she seemed a little scared of something.

"What's wrong now?" I asked playfully, thinking it was nothing.

"Come here,"

She seemed serious which got me a little scared as well. I inched over to her until we were as close as we could be.

She had been looking down at the ground but once I was close to her, she looked up at my face and her beautiful blue eyes met mine. She picked her hand up from the side of her body and cupped it on my cheek. Then, slowly, her lips inched towards my lips, eventually touching and pressing against each other. It was an extremely passionate kiss that blew me away. Once we pulled away, our eyes never left each other's.

"I had an amazing time with you tonight," she said.

"Me too," I said.

That kiss changed things for me. I felt like I had truly started to move on from Nora and our relationship. I was invested in Hailey now, and I was excited about that. Nora wasn't…


	20. Realizations

Nora and Mary Louise: Realizations

 _2 YEARS AGO_

After three months of being together, Nora was still having trouble with the idea of saying "I love you" to Amanda. She knew she had feelings for her, but it wasn't love; at least not yet. Despite her conflicted feelings, Amanda continued to say "I love you" to Nora every day before she left to go back to her own house.

They continued to date and hang out with each other every day for the next eight months, making Amanda concerned as to why it was taking Nora so long to say "I love you" to her.

"Nora," Amanda said.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk,"

"About what?"

"I know I haven't brought this up in a really long time, but I need to discuss it with you again,"

"What is it?"

"Why can't you say that you love me? It's been almost a year and you still don't feel it. Eight months ago you told me that you saw this going somewhere, but I am starting to question that,"

Nora looked from Amanda's face to the ground. She didn't know what to say. She cared for Amanda so much, but those three words held a lot of meaning to her, causing her to be cautious when saying them.

"Amanda, I'm sorry. You know how much I care for you, but I just can't say it yet. I thought you respected the fact that I wanted to take things slow,"

"I did respect that. But not _this_ slow. I just don't know if I can do this anymore because I don't really know where you stand. I want to be with someone who can love me back,"

Nora took a deep breath. She was scared of telling Amanda the truth as to why she couldn't say those three words because she didn't want to push her away. But she figured the best thing to do was to tell her at this point because she was _already_ pushing her away.

"Look, you should probably know why I can't say those words,"

Amanda motioned for Nora to continue.

"I've only ever said 'I love you' to one person in my entire life. In a romantic way, I mean. And it didn't end well. She left me. So when you said—say—that you love me, I can't say it back because if I do, I'll be scared that you'll eventually leave me like Mary Louise did. And I can't have that. I just can't go through that pain again, and not saying 'I love you' can keep me from feeling that pain,"

Amanda got up from where she was sitting and came closer to Nora. She put her hands on top of hers and said, "Nora, if you _feel_ the love, then me leaving will hurt just as much as if you _said_ it. And I think you know that. So just tell me. Do you love me or not? Because if you are just scared of being alone, then let me know so that I can stop wasting my time. But if you _do_ love me, then tell me so that I can love you even more than I already do,"

"I—" Nora tried to say it.

"I lo—" Nora tried again. "I can't say it. I'm sorry,"

Tears started to fall from Nora's eyes: "I want to say it but I just can't,"

Amanda let go of Nora's hands, tears starting to fall from her face as well.

"Well," Amanda said. "I guess this is my cue to leave,"

She stood up and walked towards the door, but before she opened it, she turned back to a hysterical Nora and said, "I hope you and Mary Louise work out. Because if you can't say those three words to me because of a past girlfriend, you most likely still love her,"

Then, she walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving Nora to think about what she had said.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

Hailey and I spent another week together until I felt comfortable enough to introduce her to my family. Even to Nora.

"Are you sure you're ready for this step?" Hailey asked me.

"I've never been more sure," I reassured her.

"I guess I'm also sure, but I am just nervous. What if they don't like me?"

"What's not to like? You're beautiful, smart, funny—you're just amazing,"

Hailey blushed: "You're not too bad yourself," she winked.

That day, I let my entire family know that Hailey was going to join us for dinner. Everyone seemed pleased to have her over, making me even happier.

"That's wonderful, darling," Lily said.

"I'm sure she's astounding; I mean, you wouldn't settle for any less," Julian chimed in.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Malcolm mouth "You're welcome" to me. And I mouthed "Thank you" back.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AND 1 MONTH AGO_

Nora was heartbroken from the break up with Amanda, but she couldn't stop thinking about what she had said before she left.

 _"I hope you and Mary Louise work out. Because if you can't say those three words to me because of a past girlfriend, you most likely still love her"_

Was it true? Did she still love Mary Louise after all of this time and after all she had done to her? She didn't _want_ to, but she wasn't sure about how she felt now. That could very well be the reason she couldn't say "I love you" to Amanda.

After about a week of thinking, Nora decided to become friends with Mary Louise again in order to figure out whether or not she _did_ still love her. So, that day, she went to Mary Louise's room and told her about the break up. Although Nora told herself that she went to Mary Louise because of her plan, she knew deep down inside that she didn't want to go to anyone else about this. She only wanted to tell Mary Louise and have only her company. But she wouldn't admit that to herself.

For the next couple of weeks, they continued to talk and become close; Nora didn't want Mary Louise to suspect her of having feelings for her, so she mainly talked about Amanda.

However, once Hailey came into the picture, Nora realized just how much Mary Louise meant to her.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

Mary Louise had just told everyone that she had a new girlfriend who was coming over for dinner that night. Nora was shocked to hear that she had moved on. Of course, Nora had told her to move on for a long time now, but actually seeing it happen hurt her a little bit. Nora tried not to care as much as she did, but it was hard seeing an ex move on. Especially an ex that she still might love.

That night at the dinner table, Nora became very anxious. Mary Louise kept putting her hand on Hailey's thigh while Hailey put her hand on Mary Louise's other hand. They clearly had a connection that nobody could deny. And they obviously enjoyed each other's company as whenever one of them said something, the other would always laugh.

After dessert was served, Hailey said that she had to go back to her house. Everyone said goodbye and then Mary Louise walked her to the door. However, Nora peeked through the living room to see them; they kissed each other passionately before Hailey left.

In that moment, Nora had a realization. She still loved Mary Louise and she needed to make that clear to her.


	21. Three Words, Eight Letters

Hey guys! I am really sorry it's been a while! I have been trying to make time to write more. Don't worry—I haven't given up on this story! More to come! Enjoy!

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Three Words, Eight Letters

 _1 YEAR AGO_

"Hailey, stop!" I screamed, laughing. She had started tickling me and was chasing me around my room. "Stop it!"

"I will never stop!" she said back in a joking manner.

After a couple of minutes, I slowed down, allowing her to catch me. We both fell onto the bed behind us, still laughing.

We had been dating for about a month now, but it seemed much longer. I always had the sensation that I had known her for a long time; even since the first day we spent together. I always felt comfortable around her.

"Mary Lou,"

"Yes?"

"This past month had been the greatest month of my life,"

My smile grew. I moved closer to her on the bed until our foreheads were touching and our lips were only inches away.

"I feel the same way," I replied.

Her smile grew bigger as well. Besides Nora, I never had such a strong connection with someone after only spending one month together. I saw this relationship going somewhere; I could see myself being with Hailey forever, which was something I needed after Nora and I broke up.

I knew it was really early to say, but I wanted to make sure Hailey knew exactly where I stood in our relationship. I wanted to let her know all of my feelings.

I leaned in closer to her until our lips just touched. I pulled back slowly after, but her hand shot up from her side and pulled my head closer to hers again. Every kiss with Hailey was extremely passionate. Once we finally pulled away, our foreheads still together, I told her exactly how I felt about her without any hesitation.

I placed my hand on her cheek, looked straight into her beautiful eyes, and said, "I love you, Hailey"

I could tell my words came as a surprise to her because she pulled back a little in shock after I said them. But after a minute or so, she started to smile again and said it back.

"I love you, too,"

We kissed each other again and again. I was the happiest I had been in a while.

...….

After Nora realized she still loved Mary Louise, she tried to become really close to her. However, that was harder than she had expected because she spent most of her time with Hailey. Seeing Mary Lou with her new girlfriend nauseated her. All she wanted was her love back, but at this point she wasn't so sure she would get it.

One day, Nora decided to eavesdrop on Mary Louise and Hailey. She wanted to know how deep their relationship really was. So, she stood right outside Mary Louise's door. That was the same day she told Hailey she loved her.

Right when Nora heard those words, instead of feeling hurt, she felt intense anger. How could Mary Louise just say those words after only a month. Shouldn't those words be something special? Was she just throwing those three words around like they meant nothing? She believed that those words were still meant for her and Mary Louise had no right to just blurt that out.

Nora stormed back into her own room until Hailey finally left. Suddenly, with Mary Louise alone, Nora felt the urge to go and talk to her, or rather scream at her.

Nora forcefully opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. Mary Louise quickly turned around and saw Nora's angry face. She was ready to explode on Mary Louise and yell at her about the words she had said to Hailey. But, instead, she just started crying.

...….

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"How could you, Mary Lou? Did our relationship mean nothing to you?" Nora managed to say through her tears.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"Our love was special and deserved more than what you—" Nora stopped.

"What did I do?" Mary Louise asked.

"Stop with the questions! You know what you said tonight. I heard it!"

Suddenly, I realized what she was talking about.

"Nora, I meant what I said tonight. I didn't say it to spite you. I didn't say it to get back at you for anything. I didn't just say it out of nowhere. It's how I feel. I love her, Nora,"

"Stop it! Just stop it!" she screamed.

"Why do you care? You moved on and you told me to also. And I did. So why are you yelling at me for doing exactly what you told me?"

"Never mind," Nora replied as she walked towards the door to leave.

"No! You don't have the right to meddle in my life anymore! You can't just barge in here and tell me that saying 'I love you' to someone is wrong! You are the one who didn't want me back! You are the one who asked for all of this!"

Nora turned around, facing me again. Tears started to well up in my eyes.

"I care because—" she paused.

"Just tell me! Why can't you let me be happy? If I can't be with you then I can't be with anyone else? Is that it? You want me to be alone? You can't stand me being a little happy?"

"That's not it. Of course I want you to be happy,"

"Well I am! So leave me be!"

"I can't!" she yelled back.

"Why not?" I screamed, confused again.

"Because I love you!"

"What?" I said. I was in a state of shock. Nora still loved me? How was I supposed to respond? I just told Hailey I loved her and now I hear this? I didn't even know how I felt anymore. Did I love Nora? And if I did, did I love her more than I loved Hailey now?

Nora walked towards me, standing only a couple feet apart from me.

"I am in love with you, Mary Lou. I always have been,"

"But you were with Amanda. You told me to move on. You—"

"I know. I know. But Amanda and I broke up because I couldn't say 'I love you' to her. And that's when I realized that I still had feelings for you. And then when I saw you moved on with Hailey, I knew that I loved you And then tonight I hear you say that you love hailey after I told Amanda I couldn't say it to her after eight months?

"So you expect me to just leave Hailey, someone I am so happy with, to get back together with you and hope that you don't just randomly decide one day that you don't love me anymore, and that you can't get over the past, and that you made a mistake wanting me back?"

"That would never happen. I swear to you that I will never let you go ever again. I'd be a fool,"

"What do you expect me to do here, Nora?"

She didn't respond.

"I can't just leave Hailey. I love her!"

"But you love me, too! I know you do! And I think you love me more than her,"

Nora came closer to me, grabbing my hands and putting them on hers.

"I need you in my life, Mare. I don't know what to do without you. I could never love anyone else the way I love you. I just can't,"

She began to cry again.

"I don't know," I said.

Nora nodded, let go of my hands, and walked out of my room.

I had a lot to think about.


	22. The Decision

Nora and Mary Louise: The Decision

 _1 YEAR AGO_

Hailey kept trying to get together for about a week, but I couldn't see her. Not when I was so confused. Nora told me she still loved me and wanted to be with me. She was my first love, but after all we had been through, I wasn't sure I loved her anymore. And then I fell in love with Hailey. And after Nora told me how she felt, I didn't know how I felt. Did I still love Nora? Did I love Hailey more than I ever loved Nora? When I told Hailey that I loved her, I thought everything was finally crystal clear, but not anymore. I wasn't sure of anything. I needed a lot of time to process and think about what I wanted to do next.

After another week, I finally had the courage to tell Hailey why I was avoiding her and what had happened with Nora. She knew about my past and all of the things Nora and I went though. Hailey did not take what I told her lightly; she was very upset and didn't know how I felt about it all because I hadn't even full known myself yet.

"So what does this mean? Are you breaking up with me?" she asked.

"No, no. Of course not. I just want to be honest with you. I meant what I said a few weeks back; I do love you. But I just don't know how to take what Nora said. I wasn't expecting that. And you know our history,"

"I understand," she said, grabbing my hands. "I will be patient with you because I love you, too. I was serious as well when I said that. And I am glad you are being so honest with me. It makes me love you more. I just don't want to lose you,"

I smiled and said, "You won't lose me,"

Of course, that eventually ended up being a lie.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

Jenna and I had been "dating" for about three months. We were constantly showing affection in front of Nora and I always spoke about Jenna during dinner to make Nora jealous, of course. However, Nora generally did not say anything to me. She was obviously upset, but she stopped telling me that I was just trying to make her jealous. She believed that Jenna and I were a real couple who really loved each other. After the first two months, I started to get angry that Nora was just letting our relationship continue. It was as if she didn't care if I moved on anymore. So, by the third month, I decided that I couldn't keep up the act. I had to break up off with Jenna, confront Nora, and confess what I had done to try to get her back.

I knocked on Nora's door as it squeaked open.

"Nora?"

She looked up from her bed; she had just woken up. Even in the mornings she looked beautiful.

"What is it?" she asked in a harsh tone.

"Great to talk to you, too,"

"What is it, Mary Louise?" she asked again, losing her patience.

"Is it such a burden to talk to me?"

"Mary Louise, what do you want from me? To act pleasant around you? Well, I won't. So what are you doing in my room?"

She got up from her bed, dressed in a tank top and silky pajama shorts. She walked over to her closet to grab a robe; I guess she felt uncomfortable being that exposed in front of me.

"Look, I just wanted to talk. I know the past three months haven't been easy for you. And I wanted to explain something,"

"Explain what? How you've moved on? How you love Jenna? I know. So don't bother," she said, rolling her eyes. She sat back down on her bed.

I moved further into the room and closed the door behind me.

"I'm not in love with Jenna," I blurted out.

"What?"

"I'm not in love with Jenna. I never was. It was all just part of a plan to get you back. But you stopped talking to me altogether which didn't help my plan succeed. So now I am here confessing to you my mistake. I am so sorry. I didn't mean to put you through Hell, but I had to go to the extreme to try to get you back. I love you so much and I just want you and only you,"

"What?" she repeated.

"Nora, I—"

She put her hand up, indicating for me to stop speaking, so I did. I moved closer to her, but she stood up and moved back.

"Get out,"

"Nora. Stop it. We need to talk about this,"

"No we don't. Not right now. Get out,"

"Nora, please listen," I pleaded.

"Get out!" she screamed.

So I did.

* * *

 _1 YEAR AGO_

"Mary Louise, what's wrong?" Malcolm asked. I was sitting on the living room couch, staring at a wall.

"Sorry to interrupt what seems like a fun time, but I don't think staring at a wall is very healthy,"

"Oh, shut up," I said, smiling. Malcolm always made me feel better.

He sat down next to me on the couch and asked me again, "What's wrong?"

"I just don't know how I feel,"

"About what?"

"Nora,"

"I see. The lovebirds are bickering once again,"

"Oh, stop it. I'm being serious,"

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry,"

"What's going on over here?" Julian asked, coming down the stairs.

"Great, this is turning into a whole family discussion," I said.

"What's so horrible about family discussions?" Julian asked sarcastically. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"I was just asking the same thing," Malcolm said.

"Well I told Hailey I loved her a couple of weeks ago, and that same day Nora told me she loved me. And now I don't know how to feel or what to do,"

I put my hand on my forehead. I was starting to feel sick about the entire situation.

"Just relax," Malcolm said.

"Well, you and Nora have a long history. So I think you will always love her as she was your first love. The question isn't do you love her but rather are you _in_ love with her,"

"That's the issue. I don't know!"

"That's a lie. Of course you know. You know what being in love feels like, especially what being in love with _her_ feels like. So you know. I think you are scared to rehash that. But you shouldn't ignore your true desire. And if I am wrong, and you really love Hailey more, then tell Nora you don't feel the same way and just be happy with Hailey," Julian stated.

"When you put it like that I can't argue," I laughed. Julian always had a way with words.

"You know we love you no matter what. And of course we love Nora. And we will love Hailey as well if that's who you choose,"

"What did I do in my life to be so lucky? You two are so great," I asked.

"That's a great question. Because we _are_ pretty great. I don't think you deserve us," Malcolm joked. We all laughed.

* * *

After that conversation, I was still iffy about what my decision would be. But after I talked with Oscar, I knew exactly who I wanted to be with.

I told Oscar the same thing I told Malcolm and Julian. His solution was simple. He wrote down each of their names on two separate sheets of paper, folded the pieces of paper up, mixed them so I didn't know which one was which, and then made me choose a random one. When I picked one, he said, " Don't open it. Now I want you to think about whose name you _want_ to see on the piece of paper, and that's who you really want to be with. Whatever the first name was that popped into your head when you first picked one piece of paper is the person you really love,"

Although that was simple and cheesy, it worked. I knew whose name I wanted to see on that piece of paper, and I knew who I truly loved in that moment.

* * *

The next day, I went over to Hailey's house.

Once we went upstairs to her room, I told her we needed to talk. She looked pretty upset, so I was guessing she knew what I was going to say.

"When I said I loved you, I meant it. I still do. But when I think about the love I have for you versus the love I have for Nora, there is really no comparison. And it's not that you did anything wrong. It's just that I have known her way longer and I have loved her for much longer. I really didn't think that I would ever get back together with her, but when she expressed her feelings again after all this time and I really thought about it, I realized that I never truly stopped loving her either. And I really don't want to hurt you, but I also don't want to lie to you and tell you that I don't love Nora, because I do,"

There was silence for a few moments, but after that, Hailey finally spoke.

"I understand. Although I am not happy, I understand. I know that what we had was real. I trust you. And I still love you, too. I probably always will because you are such an amazing person. And I really do hope that you and Nora work out this time. You deserve all the happiness in the world,"

"Why are you so amazing?"

"That's a great question," she joked.

I started to tear a little bit because I felt so bad for letting an amazing girl go, but I couldn't help how my heart felt.

I went in for a hug and I almost didn't want to let go of Hailey. She was so special and she taught me to love again after I thought I couldn't.

"I'm really going to miss you,"

"Me too,"

We both smiled, hugged one last time, and then I returned to my house to tell the woman I loved that I was in love with her as well.

* * *

About thirty minutes later, I was back at my house, ready to confront Nora. I ran up the stairs with my vampire speed and went straight to Nora's room. The door was unlocked, so I opened it and walked inside.

When the door slammed open, Nora turned around quickly.

"Mary Lou?"

Before saying anything, I ran up to her, grabbed her face, and planted a huge kiss on her. I felt like I was finally home again. I felt safe and comfortable.

Nora pushed me away after a couple of seconds.

"What does this mean? You can't just barge in here while still having a girlfriend and just kiss me,"

"First of all you came to me and told me you loved me out of the blue. So yes I think I can just kiss you. And Hailey is out of my life you dummy. Of course I would end things with her before coming to you. Who do you think I am?"

She smiled and then processed what I said: "Wait. You broke up with Hailey?"

"Yes. Why do you think I am here right now? To tell you that I am choosing Hailey? Obviously I am choosing you. I will always choose you,"

I kissed her again and then she pushed me away again.

"So this means that—"

"I love you," I whispered.

She giggled.

"That's what I wanted to hear. Is this a dream?"

"God I hope not,"

We smiled again and she pulled me in for another kiss. This time she didn't push me away.


	23. Promise

Hey everyone! I know it's been a while and that this is a little short, but I have been extremely busy with school. I will try to get some more chapters in this week! Thanks for waiting and baring with me! Love you guys and remember to like, follow and comment :)

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Promise

 _1 YEAR AGO_

Nora and I were together again. There were more than just a few bumps in the road with us, but we finally were able to get over everything in the past and just love each other.

"Mary Lou? Are you up?" Nora asked, resting on her arm while facing me. We were in bed and she had just woken up.

"Now I am,"

I turned around to face her, slowing opening my eyes.

"How do you look this beautiful in the morning?" I asked.

"Oh, stop it. I look like a horrid nightmare,"

"If you look like a horrid nightmare then the sky is yellow,"

"That's a horrible analogy," Nora said, laughing.

"Oh, shut up. You know what I mean," I smiled.

"Promise me something?" Nora asked.

"Anything, my love,"

"Never let me go. Even when I'm stubborn or when I push you away. Never leave me again,"

"I swear it," I lifted my hand to touch her cheek. "I love you. I will never let you go because even eternity would not be enough time with you. I am going to cherish every day, every hour, every minute that we spend together. I will hold onto you for the rest of my life,"

Nora grabbed my face, kissing me passionately, and slowly rolled on top of me.

"I love you so much," Nora said through our kisses. We both smiled and continued to kiss. We stayed in bed the entire day.

* * *

 _PRESENT DAY_

The next day, I knocked on Nora's door. She wouldn't open it.

"Nora, come on. Please open up. We need to talk. I'm sorry!"

"Go away!" she screamed.

"Please," I said hopelessly.

"Go away!"

"Okay, fine. I will. But let me just say one thing. You don't have to respond, you don't have to open the door, but you have to listen,"

There was no response so I just started to speak: "A year ago, you made me promise you something. You made me promise to never let go — to never leave you — even when you're stubborn or selfish or annoying or pushing me away. Right now, you are pushing me away. I will wait for you and fight for you for as long as you need, but I want you to make me that same promise. Right now. Even though you are pissed at me. I need you to tell me that you swear to never leave me. To always love me—" I started to tear. After a couple seconds I caught my breath: "Nora I love and I need you to remember that. I need you to promise that what we have will not end. Please,"

There was silence for a minute or two. My small tears turned into sobs. I didn't think Jenna would cause this much of a problem. Especially since Hailey worked last time. Then, suddenly, the door opened.

"You left me. You. Left. Me. Do you understand that? I was hurting for so long. Then I got over you. And then you got over me. And then I fell back in love with you, or rather realized I still loved you even though I didn't want to at first because of what you put me through. And then you told Hailey you loved her. And then I told you I loved you. And then you ended up choosing me over her. But then you ruined everything by telling me about Adam and his family. You killed them! And so I needed space. Rightfully so I might add. And then you made a girl pretend to be your girlfriend so that you could make me jealous? Did you really think I was going to just realize how much I loved you and forget about the past?"

"Nora, I—" I interrupted.

"Let me finish!" she said. "I know how much I love you, Mary Lou! I didn't need to see you with Jenna to realize anything! That just hurt. And it made me reconsider how you really feel about _me_. You moved on with someone when you said you would give me some space to process the fact that you killed Adam and his family! I thought at the time that you clearly don't actually love me if you really moved on. But now that you say you haven't really moved on and that you were really just playing with my feelings to get what you want. And to make me forget about things that I haven't even fully processed yet. That's not just cruel. That's sick,"

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She was right. I couldn't say anything to negate that fact. I should've just given her some time to process everything and wait for her to come back to me. And now I might have sacrificed that.

"Mary Lou. I love you. I love you more than you will probably ever know. But I also feel hurt and betrayed by you. I just needed some time! I understood everything that happened; I was obviously upset about Adam and his family, but I also could come to realize that it wasn't on purpose since you didn't realize it was them. And I could come to realize that you left in order to protect me from that pain. But I needed time to come to realize these things! And you took that time away from me by 'going out' with someone else and making me only focus on my feelings of jealousy,"

"I understand completely. I will leave you alone. I am so sorry, Nora. I was wrong and I wish I could take it all back, but I can't. I will leave you alone,"

I didn't know what else to say so I just started walking towards the door. I wasn't sure what this meant for us, but I sure as Hell knew I had to give her time to think about it.

"Wait!" Nora shouted. I turned around slowly, expecting her to just yell at me some more. Instead, I heard, "I promise,"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I meant all of what I just said. And I am going to need a lot of time and space. But I also love you. A lot. So I promise. I promise to never leave you. I promise to always love you. I promise we will not end. I just need time,"

I smiled, she slightly smiled back, and I walked out of the room.


	24. To The Future

Nora and Mary Louise: To The Future

 _PRESENT DAY_

Although I hated being apart from Nora, I believed her when she made me that promise. So I had to just wait. That's all I could do.

"You certainly look happy," Lily said when she saw me smiling to myself on the couch.

"Yes. I suppose I am,"

"Is this about Hailey?" she winked.

"Oh, right. I never told all of you, but Nora and I are going to work things out. She just needs space,"

Lily looked surprised at first, but then started smiling as well: "I am so happy for you two!"

She ran over to me, lifted me up off the couch, and gave me a firm yet loving hug.

"When did this happen?" she asked as she exited from the hug, still holding my shoulders.

"About three weeks ago," I replied.

"How could you not have told me?"

"I guess it just slipped my mind," I joked.

"Well it doesn't matter now. I am just so ecstatic for the two of you,"

* * *

That night at dinner, all of us sat down around the table. Nora and I were sitting next to each other as those were our usual spots. Before, it felt a little uncomfortable being that close to her as the chairs nearly touch, but now I could't think of a place I would rather be. I knew we weren't fully back together yet, so I didn't place my hand on hers or do anything else that she could've felt weird about.

"So how was everyone's day?" Julian asked?

"Mine was great. I had twins for lunch. Yum," Oscar said. We all laughed.

"You're an animal!" Nora shouted over the laughter while also joining in.

"Aren't we all?" he asked, jokingly.

Julian then said: "Mary Louise. Nora. Will you two go hunting together again? I miss those days when the three of us went out. Always fun times,"

"Yes they were definitely fun times. Maybe in the future," Nora stated. She looked at me with her big, beautiful green eyes and I understood exactly what she was thinking.

"The future sound great. I will check my calendar," I said. We all laughed again. Nora wanted me to go along with what she said and to also cut the tension that she thought she had caused.

"Perfect. The future it is," Julian replied, lifting a glass. We all did the same.

"To the future!" Julian shouted.

"To the future!" we all shouted back. Nora and I looked at each other when he said those words and we smiled at each other. I was not exactly sure what she was thinking, but all I could think about was how excited I was for our future.

* * *

After dinner, Malcolm wanted to play a game, but Malcolm, Julian and Lily were tired and went to sleep, Valerie didn't want to play, and Beau was still in the kitchen eating.

"I'm too busy," Beau said.

I rolled my eyes and said, "I guess it's just you me and Nora,"

"What would you like to play?" I asked.

"Well, now that it's just the three of us, let's ask each other questions," Oscar said.

"What kind of a game is that?" Nora asked.

"Oh, stop. It will be fun. I'll start,"

"Alright," Nora and I both replied.

"Nora. Who was your first kiss with?" Oscar asked.

"A boy named John. We were little, though. And he was a horrible kisser," she laughed.

"Alright, good job. You get the hang of the game,"

Nora rolled her eyes: "Alright, now I ask a question. Oscar. Who was _your_ first kiss?"

"You can't ask the same question!" he proclaimed.

"Alright, alright. Hm. Let me think. Oh, I know! Who is your favorite sibling?"

"Obviously the two of you," he smiled. "Okay, let's get deeper now. Mary Lou. Why do you love Nora?"

"Oscar," I glared at him. I didn't want to make Nora feel awkward.

"Come on. You have to answer the question,"

I looked over at Nora to see how she felt about this, but she nodded her head, indicating everything was fine, so I answered the question.

"She's nice, smart and pretty," I said.

"Oh come on! What a horrible answer. That's what people say about people they don't like because they can't think of anything else. Give me a real, honest answer. Dig deep,"

I looked into Nora's eyes and just started speaking: "I love her because of the way her eyes light up when she gets happy and the way her lip moves when she is nervous. I love watching her sleep because it always amazes me how beautiful she is all the time. I love how her hair looks when it blows in the wind. I love how she makes me feel and how she puts up with me when I know I am hard to handle," I paused, realizing I was rambling on, and looked away from Nora. "Sorry," I said.

"Don't apologize. That was beautifully worded," Oscar replied.

I looked back at Nora. She wasn't moving; she was completely still, just looking at me in awe.

Finally, she said: "Thank you,"

I felt a little weird, so I said I was tired and went upstairs. I closed the door behind me and took off my dress so that only my undergarments were on. Suddenly, I heard the door creek open and saw Nora's face pop in.

"Sorry!" she quickly looked away.

"It's alright, my lo—Nora. Just give me a moment,"

As I was changing and she was turned around, she started to speak.

"What you said down there,"

"Oh, just forget about it. I know you need space. He just asked the question and I was just rambling. I didn't want to make it weird. Sorry,"

"Don't say sorry," she said, turning around.

"I'm not done changing!" I screamed.

"Don't say sorry," she repeated, ignoring my words.

I turned around so she only saw my back and then I quickly put my pajamas on.

I turned back to face her and asked, "Why?"

"Because it was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you,"

"When you said 'thank you' before I thought you were just being polite,"

"No, I meant it. It was very sweet. And you're right, I still need time, but you've been so patient and haven't tried anything these last few weeks. It's making it easier for me, so thank you for that as well," she smiled.

"That's what you need, so that's what I'll give you," I smiled back.

"To the future," she said.

"To the future," I repeated.

And then she left my room.


	25. Together

Nora and Mary Louise: Together

It had been about two months since that night. Every day Nora was closer and closer to finally being ready to be with me. However, she always said she needed a little more time, so I was patient with her. After all, she made me a promise. Oh, and I also loved her.

For the past two weeks, Nora and I started to have long talks every night. Sometimes they were about serious things and other times about nonsense. But it was no matter; it was nice to talk to her about anything.

I never pushed her into being with me sooner than she was ready, but one night changed that.

"Mary Lou. Thank you for being so patient with me," Nora said.

"Well I trust you when you promise me things," I smiled.

She smiled back and then walked closer to me: "You are the best person in the world. Do you know that?"

"Thanks," I chuckled, awkwardly.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all,"

"Alright. Anyway, I just really appreciate you," she continued. She placed one hand on my cheek and the other on my waist. I stepped back a little, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," I replied.

"How long have I known you? I think I'd know when something is wrong. Tell me, Mare,"

"You have been so flirty the past couple of days, but you keep reminding me that I have to wait and be patient. Well, I've been extremely patient with you. I haven't tried anything with you. You are the one who wanted to have long talks every night. You are the one who continues to give me compliments. You are the one who touches me and leads me on. You say you appreciate me, but I don't appreciate what you're doing! It's not right and you know it. I _love_ you, Nora. And I know you love me as well, but I don't want you flirting with me and telling me how much I mean to you when I still can't have you!"

It was like I was getting two months of locked in frustration out in one moment. I didn't realize how much I was suffering on the inside until all those words came out of my mouth.

"I didn't know you felt that way. I'm sorry," she responded.

"I didn't mean to yell at you, Nora. I just want to be with you. Don't get me wrong, I do trust your promise, but how long do you expect me to wait? And why do you need more time apart form me when you spend all your time _with_ me? I guess you are just giving me mixed signals and it's like you are playing with my emotions,"

She nodded at me but didn't respond.

"You don't have any explanation?"

"You know how I feel,"

"No. I don't, actually. Enlighten me,"

"You know I love you!"

"Then why can't we be together?" I demanded.

"Because I don't know if—" she stopped herself.

"Don't know if what?"

"Look, I am just not ready yet,"

"Well when _will_ you be? It's unfair to make me wait this long when it seems like you are over everything that happened! You don't know if _what_?"

She opened her mouth and then closed it again.

"Nora, tell me!" I yelled in frustration.

"I just don't know if I want to risk being with you!"

My facial expression changed from being angry to being hurt and confused. I took a step back.

"Mare—"

"No. It's fine. I get it. You just don't want to be with me. I clearly don't mean as much to you as you do to me. So it's for the best that we aren't together," I said through tears.

"No, Mare. That's not what I meant,"

"Well what did you mean then, Nora?"

"I love you so much. And you know that. But we've had so many ups and downs in our relationship. And I've been heartbroken so many times. I made a promise to you. And when I made it, I intended to keep it. And I still want to. I'm just scared. I don't want to get my heart broken again—" she paused. She started to tear and then continued: "It just hurts so much,"

"Nora. I've been in the same position as you for all our time together. When your heart is broken, mine is, too. Do you think I _like_ getting my heart broken? No! But you're worth every second of it! To me, you're worth anything and everything in the world because you are the love of my life. I can't even fathom a world without you in it. I can't imagine my life without you, Nora. And I think—no, I know—you feel the same way. So take that leap of faith with me. I am not saying we won't have fights or won't hurt each other. Because we probably will. In fact, I am positive we will. But we love each other enough to get through it all. At least I love you enough. Do you love me enough?"

Silence.

"Nora?" I said with little hope. I started to get a croak in my throat because I was so hurt and the tears came down faster.

She finally opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. Instead, she ran up to me and kissed me. Her lips pressed hard against mine and I wrapped my arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around my neck. As we pulled away, I asked, "So is that a yes?"

She smiled and replied: "Of course that's a yes!"

We kissed again and then she pulled away and whispered, "I love you so much. And I can't imagine my life without you either. We always come back to each other no matter what happens, so I am ready to fight through anything with you. I don't just love you enough to get through all the B.S. that is to come. I love you enough to try and make that stuff less hard. I just want us to be happy,"

"Well I am already happy," I smiled.

"Me, too,"

I pulled her in for another kiss and then we made our way to the bed.


	26. Forever

Hey again! I know it's been a while and I want to thank you all for being so patient with me! I have been very busy with school and I hope to write more stories. Unfortunately, I think this particular story has come to an end. So grateful and appreciative of all of you who have followed me on my journey through writing this! I hope you like how I ended things. Noralise forever! :)

* * *

Nora and Mary Louise: Forever

I woke up and turned my head to face the opposite side of the bed. The most gorgeous woman in the world was lying next to me, her soft curls draped over the pillow and her beautiful, bright eyes barely opened as she was just waking up.

"Good morning, my love," I whispered.

Nora opened her eyes wider and I became even more captivated by her beauty.

"Good morning," she replied, smiling.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Starving,"

"Good, because I am, too. Would you join me for breakfast downstairs?"

She nodded, both of us smiling, and we quickly made our way downstairs. Everyone was in the kitchen already.

"Morning, love birds," Malcolm said.

"Are you two hungry?" Lily asked. "We have just made some pancakes,"

"I knew I liked you all for a reason," I joked.

We all sat around the table, Nora and I sitting next to one another.

"Watch out!" Oscar yelled as he tripped. Three pancakes flew up from his plate and landed on Nora's.

"Clumsy as always, Oscar,"

"At least I didn't burn the pancakes like you always do,"

Nora glared at Oscar before laughing.

"Nobody can refute that," Julian replied.

"Hey!" Nora shouted. All of us bursted out into laughter.

"You know I love you, but I think we all can agree that you are a horrible cook," I said.

"Always making me feel loved, darling," Nora replied, sarcastically.

I put my hand on her thigh, leaned towards her and kissed her, both of us partly laughing.

"Get a room!" Malcolm and Oscar yelled in unison.

"Oh, shut up," I said.

As we all ate our pancakes, I realized that I had never felt this happy before. I looked around the table at each person, seeing that they all were extremely content. Then, I looked at Nora. I felt so lucky to have her back and promised that I would never let her go again.

Once breakfast was over, Nora and I went back upstairs.

Out of nowhere, she quietly said, "And we will sit upon the rocks, seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,"

"What is that?"

She turned around, surprised I had heard her: "It's a poem. My favorite, actually,"

"How did I not know this?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, now you do," she laughed.

"Tell me some of the lines,"

"Alright. I'll tell you my favorite line,"

"Even better," I smiled.

"Come live with me and be my love, and we will all the pleasures prove,"

"That's beautiful. What is the poem about?"

"A shepherd is talking to his beloved and promises her a romantic and ideal life in the countryside. But, actually, it's quite a sad poem,"

"How?"

"He is talking about an ideal life with his love, but none of what he promises is realistic. Life is hard and there is no such thing as a perfect love story,"

"I think we can both agree on that," we laughed.

I continued: "But there is something else that I think we can both agree on,"

"And what's that?"

I inched closer to her.

"Although love stories aren't perfect, if that love is big enough, it's worth fighting for. And the hardships that come with that kind of love don't seem as large a burden because those two people have each other,"

Nora inched even closer to me than I did to her and slowly lifted up her head to gaze into my eyes.

"I believe you are talking about us,"

"It just so happens I am,"

"And you are right. I completely agree with you,"

She took my hands and placed them in hers.

"We can get through anything. Because I love you. And our love is greater than every other love combined," she continued.

"I am never letting you go again. I love you so much," I responded.

"Good. Because I can't imagine a life without you in it. I'll love you—"

Before she finished her sentence, our lips were pressed up against each other's.

"Forever," she whispered as we exited the kiss.

"Forever," I whispered back. And I knew that that was the truth. That no matter what came next, we would always find our way back to each other in the end because our love was truly _forever_.


End file.
